Agra mourns demise of braveheart son Capt Shubham Gupta in J-K encounter

Agra, Nov 23 (PTI) Residents here Thursday mourned the loss of the city's braveheart son Captain Shubham Gupta who was martyred in an encounter with the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district.

Captain Gupta laid down his life while fighting with the terrorists in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Wednesday.

He is survived by his father Basant Gupta, a district government counsel at the civil court here, his mother Pushpa Gupta, a homemaker, and a younger brother Rishabh Gupta.  Captain Gupta's family members said he joined the Indian Army in 2015 and was commissioned in 2018 with the 9 Para Special Force and deployed in Jammu and Kashmir.

His parents said they were planning to get him married soon.  As the news of the demise of the 27-year-old Army captain spread in the city, well-wishers, dignitaries and neighbours visited his family to share their condolences.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Affairs SP Singh Baghel, who represents the Agra constituency in the Lok Sabha, reached Captain Gupta's house along with Fatehpur Sikri (Agra Rural) MP Rajkumar Chahar and other local leaders to console the family members.

'It is a great loss to our city. May god give strength to his family to bear this huge loss. Captain Shubham Gupta has made the entire city proud while sacrificing his life for the nation at his young age,' said Jay Bhardwaj, a local resident.

The residents of the city also condoled the loss on social media and shared photos of Agra's brave son Captain Gupta.

The family members have said that the martyr's mortal remains are expected to reach home later in the day or late at night.

The legal fraternity in Agra also mourned the Army captain's demise and decided not to work on Thursday.  Captain Gupta was among the four Indian Army personnel martyred during the encounter.

Two others were injured during the encounter, which broke out between the terrorists and joint forces of the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police in the Bajimaal area of Dharmsal following a cordon-and-search operation. PTI COR AS RPA