Last rites of Lt. Shashank Tiwari who died in Sikkim to be held in Ayodhya

The last rites of 22-year-old Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari, who sacrificed his life while saving a fellow soldier during a patrol operation in Sikkim will be held today, May 24, in Ayodhya.

Tiwari, a resident of Gaddopur in Ayodhya Cantonment, had joined the Indian Army last year after clearing the National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance examination in 2019.

He was posted in Sikkim on his first assignment.

His mortal remains were flown from Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri and reached Ayodhya late on Friday. The body was taken to the Faizabad Military Hospital, where it will be kept overnight, officials said.

The funeral will be held on Saturday at Jamthara Ghat with full military and state honours.

According to officials, the officer lost his life during a routine patrol on Thursday when a fellow soldier slipped into a river with a strong current. Lt Tiwari jumped in to rescue him and succeeded, but was swept away in the process and could not be saved.

Ayodhya City Magistrate Rajesh Mishra said the officer’s father, Jung Bahadur Tiwari, who works in the Merchant Navy and is currently posted in the United States, is expected to reach Ayodhya by Saturday morning.

Family members said Lt Tiwari was bright in academics and had always aspired to serve the nation. He attended a school in Faizabad before joining the NDA.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who visited Ayodhya on Friday to offer prayers at Hanumangarhi and inaugurate the Hanumat Katha Mandapam, also paid tribute to the officer’s courage and sacrifice.

The chief minister announced that a memorial would be built in Lt Tiwari’s honour in Ayodhya and that financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh has been sanctioned for his family by the state government.