Para commando Jhantu Ali Shaikh (6 PARA-Special Forces) came home for the last time in a shroud on Saturday morning, April 26, sealed in a coffin draped in a national flag signifying his huge sacrifice fighting the enemy in an intense ‘encounter’ in the Basantgarh area in Kashmir’s Udhampur district. His funeral drew thousands to Patharghata near the India-Bangladesh border.
As the coffin draped in the national flag made its way through the narrow village lanes, silence fell over the crowd. Jhantu’s final journey was carried on the shoulders of his elder brother, Subedar Rafiqul Ali Shaikh of the Indian Army, who could barely hold back his grief.
A very young 37-year-old commando of 6 Para Special Forces, Jhantu, laid down his life during a counter-insurgency operation in Udhampur, Kashmir, following the Pahalgam terror attack. He had sustained injuries while battling terrorists and died before he could be evacuated. Several national newspapers carried the news of both the funeral and the army tribute to the fallen soldier soon after his martyrdom
The Indian Army’s White Knight Corps on Thursday, April 23, paid tribute to Havildar Jhantu Ali Shaikh of 6 PARA (Special Forces), a soldier from West Bengal’s Krishnanagar area, who was killed during a counter-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district, reported The Hindu. “His indomitable courage and the valour of his team will never be forgotten. We stand in solidarity with the bereaved family in this moment of grief,” the post read.
“#GOC #WhiteKnightCorps and all ranks salute #Braveheart Hav Jhantu Ali Shaikh of 6 PARA SF, who made the supreme #sacrifice during a counter #terror #operation,” the Corps posted on X
#GOC #WhiteKnightCorps and all ranks salute #Braveheart Hav Jhantu Ali Shaikh of 6 PARA SF, who made the supreme #sacrifice during a counter #terror #operation.
His indomitable courage and the valour of his team will never be forgotten.
We stand in solidarity with the bereaved… pic.twitter.com/BzogemMct9
— White Knight Corps (@Whiteknight_IA) April 24, 2025
“For Jhantu, duty was like a religion,” Rafiqul said quietly. “A soldier belongs to no religion — only to the nation.”
In an address to each one of us –including the hate-letters who have erupted over social media using the ghastly Pahalgam attack to provoke boycott, violence and slur against all Muslims, Rafiqul’s voice rings clear,”
“Na koi jaat hoti hai, Na koi dharm hota hai. Bharat kee Sena main koi dharm nahin. Kaun kahta hai kee Bharat kee Sena Hindu hai? Kaun kehta hai kee Bharat kee Sena Mussalmaan hai? Hamaree Bharat ke Sena ek aisee Sena hai jahan Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isaahi, Jain, Buddhist, Parsee ek hee thaalee main khaana khaate hai, ek hee bartan main. Agar bhaichara dekhna hai to fauj mein dekho. Fauj mein bhartee ho.Iski to bharpaee koi nahi kar sakta, inkee family kee, bacche kee. Usse jyaada mujhe garv hai kee mera bhai, mere desh ke liye mere desh kee Janata ke liye, apni jaan ko qurban kiya hai. Joh Pahalgam main hua, jo antankee hamla hua, hamaare Hindu bhaiyon ko chun chun kar maara gaya. Usshee Hindu bhaiyon ka badla lene ke liye mera bhai, Jhantu Shaikh, jab usko soochna mila kee janglon main, ghaateeyon main, dushman chupa hua hai…mera bhai, ek Havildar tha, usne bahaduri dikha kar ke saamna kiya..sirf Commander jung nahin ladhte, won guide karte hai, hamaara bhai model hero tha..Baaiki jo Upar waale kee marzi, wahin hua…”
(There is no caste, no religion in the Indian army. Who says the Indian army is Hindu? Or Muslim? In our Indian army all, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jain, Buddhist Parsis, eat together in one plate. If you want to observe fraternity, camaraderie, see the Indian army, join the Indian army. None, no one, nothing can make good the loss to my brother’s family, his wife, his his children. However, I am proud, deeply proud that he, my brother, Jhantu Shaikh gave his life for India, for the people of India. What happened in Pahalgam, the terror attack, Hindu brothers were singled out and killed. To make good, take revenge for those lives lost, my brother, when he got news that in the forest and valleys, the enemy lurks, he acted. In a war such as this it is the Havildar as much as the Commander who plays a role, the Commander guides, yes. But it was my brother who sought out the hidden enemy, faced the consequences, and gave his life. He is a model hero is Jhantu Shaikh…Rest was God’s will…”)
His words struck a chord among the mourners, many of whom raised slogans demanding strong retaliation against the terrorists. A sea of mourners gathered at Patharghata as Jhantu was laid to rest near his ancestral home. Several thousand people, many with tears streaming down their cheeks, came to pay their final respects to the fallen soldier.
As sunrise broke through the night, villagers lined the lanes of Patharghata as Jhantu’s mortal remains arrived in an army vehicle, escorted by senior officers. His elder brother, Rafiqul of the army’s artillery regiment, walked alongside the coffin, barely able to control the grief at the loss.
As the coffin was placed under a makeshift canopy on the local Idgah ground, several thousand people, many in tears, gathered to pay their last respects to the soldier they knew simply as “the boy next door”. Rafiqul, serving the Indian Army for 28 years, struggled to compose himself while laying a floral wreath on his brother’s coffin.
“It is a matter of pride to die on the battlefield,” Rafiqul said, his voice breaking. “But to be killed by terrorists inside our own country is unacceptable. The neighbouring country that sponsors this terrorism must be made to pay.”
Mohit Chauhan put out the emotional address of Rafikqul Ali Shaikh on ‘X’.
Just listen to the 2-minute speech of Subedar Rafiqul Sheikh at the funeral of his martyred brother, Havildar Jhantu Ali Sheikh.
Goosebumps❤️🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/wqQN0mlgy2
— Mohit Chauhan (@mohitlaws) April 26, 2025
Later, speaking to the media, including Telegraph, Rafiqul continued: “We want peace. We are soldiers — can anyone tell the religion of a soldier? The Indian Army is made up of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. For us, the nation comes first, family second.”
The crowd, deeply moved by Jhantu’s martyrdom, raised demands for a strong response against terrorism. The fallen soldier’s body had arrived at Dumdum airport around 10.30pm on Friday and was first taken to the morgue at the Barrackpore Army Base Hospital.
Early on Saturday, after a ceremonial guard of honour, his final journey home began. By 9.25am, the coffin reached Patharghata, where religious rites were performed at his residence, barely 200 meters from the Idgah ground. After the prayers, the coffin was again brought to the ground where Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, party leaders Rukbanur Rahaman and Tapas Saha, and CPM leaders Satarup Ghosh and S.M. Sadi joined officials and villagers to pay tribute.
At 12.15pm, Rafiqul, accompanied by three fellow soldiers, lifted Jhantu’s coffin on their shoulders once more, leading the procession to the burial ground. Jhantu’s wife Sahana, battling tears, added her voice to the demand for justice.
“Terrorists may claim to be Muslim, but they do not respect their faith,” she said. “Islam never preaches the killing of innocents. I appeal to the government to act firmly so no more children lose their fathers as mine have.” A mother of a son and daughter, she said she still struggled to accept that her husband would never return home.
Ironically, amid the overwhelming grief, many villagers were surprised by the absence of prominent BJP leaders at the funeral. On Friday, Arjun Biswas, president of the BJP’s Nadia North district committee, visited the bereaved family. But on Saturday, no senior BJP figure was present when Jhantu’s body arrived in the village at the time of the funeral.
Related:
A Tranquil Paradise Shattered: The Pahalgam terror attack
Muslims in Kashmir & across India strongly condemn Pahalgam terror attack