Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari of Ayodhya, who died saving a fellow soldier during a patrol in Sikkim, was remembered on Friday as his father paid homage to him at the 11 Gorkha Rifles Regimental Centre in Lucknow.
Lt Tiwari jumped into a river in North Sikkim to rescue a fellow soldier who had fallen and was being swept away by a strong current. He succeeded in saving the colleague but died himself.
The Central Command of the Indian Army marked the moment with a tribute on its official account:
“Shri Jang Bahadur Tiwari, father of Lt Shashank Tiwari, KC (Posthumous) of 1st Bn Sikkim Scouts, visited 11 Gorkha Rifles Regimental Centre #Lucknow on 12 Sep 2025. He laid a wreath at the Regimental War Memorial, offered floral tributes at his son’s Memorial Stone and visited the Motivation Hall where his son’s legacy would continue to inspire future warriors.”
The message was framed under the words: “A Father’s Tribute. A Nation’s Salute.”
Lt Tiwari was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra in May this year for what the Army called a “supreme act of leadership and humanity” during the same incident in North Sikkim.
“Lt Shashank Tiwari displayed extraordinary courage and selflessness while leading a patrol in North Sikkim. In a daring act of valour, he laid down his life while saving a fellow soldier from a raging glacial stream,” the Central Command said.
Following his death, Ayodhya city magistrate Rajesh Mishra told reporters that Tiwari’s father, a merchant navy officer, had been in the United States at the time and was returning to India.
The officer’s body was flown from Bagdogra in Siliguri to Ayodhya by special aircraft. From the airport, military officials transported it to the Faizabad military hospital, where it remained overnight before final rites.
The Indian Army released a statement mourning the young officer’s death, “The Indian Army mourns the loss of a braveheart and a leader, who, despite his tender age and brief service, leaves behind a legacy of courage and camaraderie that will inspire generations of soldiers to come.”
Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari’s act of courage took place during a routine operational patrol when a fellow officer was swept into a glacial stream.
For his family, Friday’s wreath-laying in Lucknow was a public moment of remembrance.