Major Ashish Dhonchak was one of three Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir police officers killed in action during an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on the intervening night of September 12-13. The encounter broke out in the Kokernag forest area of Anantnag. Major Dhonchak was part of the joint operation team of the Indian Army and Kashmir South Zone police.
The other two officers who lost their lives are Colonel Manpreet Singh and DSP Humayun Bhat. The Army had received specific intelligence about the presence of two terrorists in Koernag village. As the military and police personnel were closing in on the terrorists, they opened fire. Major Dhonchak was also hit in the firing.
He was airlifted to a Srinagar hospital along with Colonel Manpreet Singh and DSP Humayun Bhat. However, they succumbed to their injuries during the course of medical treatment. The Indian Army and Police have paid tributes to the bravehearts for their supreme sacrifice in service of the country.
Who was Major Ashish Dhonchak?
Major Dhonchak was a resident of Panipat, Haryana. His family hails from a small village called Binjhol. He was the only son of his retired NFL clerk father and had three sisters. Dhonchak had told his father that he would come home for his birthday four months later.
His family currently lives in a rented house in Panipat. He was supposed to inaugurate a new home that his father had built for them in Panipat.
Major Dhonchak married Jyoti from Jind, Haryana, nine years ago. He is also survived by a 2.5-year-old daughter, Vamika. Before being posted in Kashmir, Ashish was posted in Bathinda, Punjab. He was decorated with the Sena Medal on August 11 earlier this year.