Tearful adieu to army officer who lost life while rescuing comrade in Sikkim
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Ayodhya: Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari (23) of the Sikkim Scouts, Gorkha Rifle regiment, who laid down his life while saving a fellow soldier in Sikkim, was cremated with state honours at Jamthara Ghat on the banks of the Saryu in Ayodhya on Saturday.
His father, Jang Bahadur Tiwari, performed the last rites.
The mortal remains of Lt Shashank arrived at Ayodhya Military Hospital on Friday night.
On Saturday morning, army officials brought the body from the military hospital to his residence from where thousands of residents joined the funeral procession and paid tribute to him.
Amid the chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Shaheed Shashank Tiwari Amar Rahein', army personnel carried the body to Jamthara Ghat where the funeral was performed with state honours.
UP minister Surya Pratap Shahi, Ayodhya district magistrate Nikhil Tikaram Funde, SSP Gaurav Grover, senior officers from the Dogra Regiment Centre, legislators Ved Prakash Gupta, Ramchandra Yadav, Amit Singh, mayor Girish Pati Tripathi, former MP Lallu Singh, former ministers Pawan Pandey and Anand Sen Yadav and Samajwadi Party district president Paras Nath Yadav paid tributes to Lt Shashank.
On Thursday, Lt Shashank was leading a route-clearing team from the 1st Battalion Sikkim Scouts when he jumped into the river to save a fellow soldier from being swept away by the strong current. While he managed to pull his comrade, AV Stephan Subba, from the jaws of death, he lost his life in the process.
Shashank, who completed his training at the National Defence Academy and was commissioned on Dec 14, 2024, was his parents' only child.
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