Barely six months into the service, Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari, a 23-year-old Indian Army Officer lost his life while trying to save a fellow soldier during an operation task in North Sikkim, yesterday.

Commissioned in the Sikkim Scouts, in December last year, Tiwari was leading a Route Opening Patrol towards a Tactical Operating Base (TOB), a key post being prepared for future deployment, in Sikkim when a solider from his patrol, Stephan Subba, lost his footing while crossing a log bridge and was swept away by the powerful mountain stream.

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Tiwari, along with another soldier, Naik Pukar Katel, jumped into the stream to rescue the agniveer. While the soldiers managed to escape, Tiwari was swept away in the strong current. According to the Indian Army, Tiwari’s body was recovered 800 metres downstream at 11:30 am.

Hailing from Ayodhya, Tiwari was described as a hero, whose actions is being deemed as the shining example of the Indian Army’s core values- selfless service, integrity, leadership by example, and the unbreakable bond between officers and men, which transcends rank and is nurtured in both war and peace, the army stated.

In a post on X, the Eastern Command wrote, “Lt Gen RC Tiwari, #ArmyCdrEC & All Ranks express deepest condolences on the demise of Lt Shashank Tiwari who made supreme sacrifice while rescuing a fellow soldier from being swept away in a river during an operational patrol in HAA in #NorthSikkim. #IndianArmy stands firmly with the bereaved family.”