Bihar Dy CM Sushil Kumar Modi pays tribute to slain Army Captain Ashutosh Kumar, at a wreath laying ceremony in Patna, Tuesday. (PTI)To honour the memory of Captain Ashutosh Kumar, the Army officer who was killed in an encounter with terrorists in J&K, a wreath-laying ceremony was organised at the Hut of Remembrance at the National Defence Academy (NDA), his alma mater.
“A wreath laying ceremony was organised at the Hut of Remembrance at the NDA on November 10 in the honour of Late Captain Ashutosh Kumar, who attained martyrdom on night of November 7-8, during a counter-infiltration operation in Machil Sector, Kupwara, along the line of Control,” read a press statement from the NDA.
NDA Commandant Lieutenant General Asit Mistry paid homage to the braveheart in a solemn ceremony on behalf of the NDA fraternity.
Captain Ashutosh Kumar was an alumnus of the 132nd course of the NDA. He belonged to the Hunter Squadron and had passed out from the tri-services academy in May 2017. He was commissioned in the 18th Battalion of the Madras Regiment.
The NDA statement read, “The brave officer led a daring operation, thereby foiling an infiltration bid on the intervening night of November 7-8, in which his team neutralised three hardcore militants. Demonstrating unparalleled courage and exceptional devotion to duty while making the supreme sacrifice, Late Captain Ashutosh Kumar has lived up to the motto of NDA – Service Before Self. Today, as his name gets inscribed in golden letters with full military honours on the sacred Hut of Remembrance, his martyrdom will continue to inspire future generations of NDA cadets. The fraternity offers condolences to the bereaved family in this hour of grief.”
Along with Captain Ashutosh Kumar, Havaldar Praveen Kumar, Rifleman Ryada Maheshwar of the Indian Army and Border Security Force constable Sudip Sarkar were killed in gunfights at Machil sector. Three militants were killed in the counter-infiltration operation.
The Hut of Remembrance is a memorial hut at the NDA that enshrines and commemorates the sacrifices of all those alumni who laid down their lives in the line of duty. Situated on a hill slope, west of the Sudan Block in the NDA, the Hut of Remembrance was built by the cadets between January 1956 and May 1957.