The mortal remains of 22-year-old Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari, who died while helping a fellow soldier during a patrol while on duty in the Sikkim sector, arrived at his home in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
The funeral will be held at Jamthara Ghat on Saturday, and he will be given full military and state honors. Tiwari, a resident of Gaddopur in Ayodhya Cantonment, joined the Indian Army last year after clearing the NDA (National Defence Academy) entrance test in 2019.
He was on a posting and first assignment to Sikkim. His remains were transported from Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri and arrived in Ayodhya late Friday night.
Officials said the officer was on routine patrol on Thursday when a fellow soldier fell into a river with a swift current. Lt. Tiwari jumped into the river to save him, and he did, but he was swept away and could not be rescued.
Ayodhya City Magistrate Rajesh Mishra said the officer’s father, Jung Bahadur Tiwari, who is in the Merchant Navy and posted in the U.S., is expected to be in Ayodhya by Saturday morning.
Family members said Lt. Tiwari was bright academically and had always sought to serve the motherland. He studied at a school in Faizabad before joining the NDA.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who visited Ayodhya on Friday to pray at Hanumangarhi and inaugurate Hanumat Katha Mandapam, also paid respect to the officer’s courage and sacrifice.
The chief minister said the state government has sanctioned ₹50 lakh in financial assistance to Lt. Tiwari’s family and will build a memorial in Lt. Tiwari’s honor in Ayodhya.
