Captain Ankit Gupta’s body found after 6 days

JAIPUR/JODHPUR: The body of army captain Ankit Gupta, who drowned six days ago in the Jodhpur’s Takhat Sagar reservoir, was found on Tuesday.

Neeraj Sharma, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Pratap Nagar circle said the body was found around 4pm and taken to an army hospital.

“The family members of late captain Guta have been informed. It is not clear whether he will be cremated in

Jodhpur or Gurugram, his home town. The army will decide according to the wishes of the family,” said Sharma.

A rescue team of 200 experts from SDRF, NDRF, civil defence and MARCOS was searching for 10 Para (Special Forces) Captain Gupta, who drowned during a training exercise at Takhat Sagar last Thursday.

Captain Gupta was commander of 10 Para (Special Forces), which was selected as the best unit of the year (2020) in the Indian Army. As a part of a drill, he jumped from a helicopter into the Takhat Sagar on Thursday. Three other commandos also jumped with him, but Captain Ankit could not come out.

During the exercise to improve skills for rescuing drowned people, the commandos of the 10 Para had to throw their boats in the water and jump from a helicopter. After this, they were to attack the enemy by riding on a boat.

Under this mission, four commandos led by captain Ankit threw their boat first into

Takhat Sagar reservoir and then jumped into the water themselves.

Three commandos reached the boat, but Captain Ankit could not.

Ankit, a resident of Gurugram, got married less than two months ago on November 23, 2020.

“His passion for the army can be gauged from the fact that he stayed with his wife for a very little period after marriage and returned to complete his special training,” a police official said.