Lt Col Rishubh Sharma

Lt Col Rishubh Sharma hailed from Garoda village in Ballabgarh tehsil of Faridabad district in Haryana and was born on 03 July 1984. Son of Dr Rajendra Sharma ( A retired Joint Director from the Ministry of Health) and Smt Shaila Devi, he had a sister Shiva as his sibling. He did his schooling from Modern Vidya Niketan School, Sec17 Faridabad and later got selected to join the Army through the Technical Entry Scheme (TES) in the year 2002. Right from his childhood days, he had a strong inclination to join the armed forces and his resolve to join the Army grew with the age. His dream eventually came true, when he passed out as a Lieutenant donning olive green uniform in December 2006. He was commissioned into 199 Med Regt of the Regiment of Artillery, the important combat support arm of Indian Army. Besides being a deep rooted soldier, he was a keen sportsman too and excelled in playing volley ball. badminton and table tennis. He was a very cheerful, humble and affable person, which made him likable to his peers and juniors as well. He had a keen interest in spiritualism too and would read the religious texts regularly.  

After serving for a few years with his parent Regiment, he got selected for the Army Aviation Corps and got trained as a helicopter pilot. He earned his wings in November 2010 and got posted to an operational flying squadron. He joined 670 Army Aviation Squadron based at Pathankot in 2010 and flew Cheetah helicopters. Subsequently he served in Army Aviation Squadrons based in Jodhpur and then in Assam. He flew Cheetah helicopters till 2016 and then shifted to HAL Rudra, also known as ALH-WSI (Weapons System Integrated), an armed version of the HAL Dhruv utility helicopter, designed and produced by the Indian aerospace manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). In the year 2017 he joined the ALH-WSI Sqn (252 Army Av Sqn) in Likabali in  Assam.  Thereafter,  he got posted to 254 Army Av Sqn, operating the formidable armed helicopters ALH-WSI based at Pathankot in Punjab.

He was passionate about flying and did exceedingly well in all his training courses. In December 2019, he was promoted to the rank of Lt Col and was also appointed the flight commander of his squadron. By 2021, he had gathered substantial flying experience and graduated to a supervisor aviator, who not only flew the formidable helicopters but also trained the next generation of lethal aviators prepared to lead Army Aviation squadrons into the battlefield.  

Operational Air Mission (J&K) : 25 Jan 2021

During Jan 2021, Lt Col Rishubh Sharma was serving with the 254 Army Aviation Squadron based at Pathankot in Punjab. The squadron was operating  armed helicopters ALH-WSI, a versatile, multi-role, multi-purpose machine designed to undertake various operational tasks.  On 25 Jan 2021, Lt Col Rishubh Sharma was tasked with an operational mission, along with his co-pilot Capt Anjani Kumar Singh. The crew took off in their Dhruv Helicopter to carry out the assigned task from Pathankot's Mamun Cantt as per the operational plan. However, as they reached Lakhanpur, the helicopter apparently developed a technical snag and became uncontrollable. Lt Col Rishubh Sharma and his co-pilot using their flying skills, tried to land the helicopter in the military area, but could not succeed.

Eventually the helicopter collided with the electric wires and fell between the Eucalyptus trees in the Basohli brigade area of ​​the army. Lt Col Rishubh Sharma and his co-pilot Capt Anjani Kumar Singh were evacuated to the Pathankot Military Hospital for treatment but Lt Col Rishubh Sharma succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Lt Col Rishubh Sharma was a valiant soldier and a competent pilot, who at the age of 36 years laid down his life in the service of the nation. 

Lt Col Rishubh Sharma is survived by his father Dr Rajendra Sharma, mother Smt Shaila Devi, wife Smt Radha Sharma, son Parth and sister Shiva.