Kolkata, Apr 25 (PTI) The body of Army Havildar Jhantu Ali Sheikh, who died in an encounter between security forces and terrorists following a search operation in Jammu and Kashmir, was brought to the N S C Bose International Airport late Friday night.

West Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim paid floral tribute to the coffin draped in tricolour as the body was later taken to a mortuary. It will be taken to Sheikh’s home in Nadia district on Saturday morning.

A crowd assembled at the airport chanting, “Bharat Matar Veer Santan Jhantu Sheikh Amar Rahe” (India’s brave heart Jhantu Sheikh will live forever in our hearts).

Sheikh’s grief stricken wife told reporters that she is yet to come to terms with the truth that her husband would never return or play with his son and other children around their home.

Sheikh is survived by his wife, daughter and a son. Jhantu was one of three brothers. Both he and his elder brother, Rafiqur Sheikh, served in the Indian Army.

The distraught young woman said that she received a text message from Sheikh early Thursday morning saying that he would be busy with work and would call her back the next day.

She said that after reading his message, she sent her son to school and went about her day. However, the reassurance of his message didn’t last long.

“In the afternoon, I heard that he had been injured but was stable. I thought he would recover soon but then I received the real news,” the widow told the reporters.

She said that her husband was very dedicated to his job and would never share any details of his operations as a soldier of the special forces.

“For him, the country came first. Then was family and everything else,” she said.

At his family home in Nadia district, tearful relatives and neighbours recalled Jhantu as a quiet, kind-hearted man who had always dreamt of serving the nation in uniform.

Sheikh, a soldier of the 6 Para of special forces of the army was killed in an encounter between security forces and terrorists following a search operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district on Thursday, officials said.

The firing took place in the Dudu-Basantgarh area during a cordon and search operation that was launched based on information about the presence of terrorists, they said. PTI SUS HIG HIG