New Delhi, Dec. 6 -- Late Major Mohit Sharma was a decorated officer of the Indian Army's elite Special Forces - a man whose courage and sacrifice earned him the highest peacetime gallantry honour in India, the Ashoka Chakra. Born in Rohtak, Haryana, he joined the officer ranks in December 1999 after passing out from the Indian Military Academy (IMA).

He later volunteered for the 1st Para (Special Forces), where he carried out highly risky covert operations. In 2004, under the alias "Iftikhar Bhatt", he successfully infiltrated a militant outfit in Jammu & Kashmir, eliminating two senior terrorists - a feat for which he was awarded the Sena Medal.

Tragically, in March 2009, during a counter-terror operation in Kupwara, Kashmir, Major Sh...