Kolkata: The sound of wailing echoes from the half-built home in Patharghata village. Inside, Sabur Ali Sheikh, frail, ailing, his heart already weakened, lies shattered. “My son gave his life and proved our loyalty to the soil,” he murmured. When the fateful call came in the morning on April 24, Sabur crumpled to the floor. His son, Havildar Jhantu Ali Sheikh, a commando with the elite 6 Para Special Forces of the Indian Army, had been killed during a counter-terror operation in Kashmir’s Udhampur district on Thursday.“#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 Indian Army’s White Knight Corps posted on X.The encounter took place in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, most tourists, died.“Jhantu had come home last in February. He had got posted in Kashmir. He had been working for nearly 14 years. Since the situation there was peaceful, he took his wife and children there often. Who knew it would end like this?” asked Sabur, a marginal farmer from Tehatta in Nadia district of West Bengal. Jhantu with his wife, child and parents in Afra. Photo: By arrangements. The child’s face has been blurred in accordance with laws on minors.Heeding his father Sabur’s lifelong dream of serving the nation, Jhantu and his elder brother had joined the armed forces. Jhantu’s elder brother, Rafiqul, currently guards the volatile Line of Control (LoC).Jhantu’s mother, Akli Bibi, a diabetes and hypertension patient, sat surrounded by villagers consoling her. “Jhantu used to say Kashmir is like paradise, and he promised to take us all there to show it. How could we know that such evil lurks in such a beautiful land? My son used to say, ‘Mother, I will sacrifice my life for the country.’ And truly, he gave his life for the nation,” she said. Jhantu Ali Sheikh is survived by his wife, Sahana, along with their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter. Sahana and the children live in an army camp in Agra – they made the choice to stay there to ensure better educational opportunities for their children. A student of Bara Andulia School, Jhantu’s journey from Nadia’s rural heartland to Special Forces has inspired many in his village. Over a dozen young men from this remote village near the Bangladesh border with a diverse demographic, have joined India’s armed forces.“He had beautiful handwriting and was involved in political activism before joining the service. Many wall writings still remain in these village. These were written by Jhantu himself,” recalled his friend Subodh Biswas.West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has phoned the grieving family, assuring them of comprehensive state support and directing Nadia district authorities to prioritise care for his ailing parents. Local leaders from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and CPI(M) have paid visits to express solidarity.Translated from the Bengali original by Aparna Bhattacharya.