Around 17 hours into the standoff, after she opened an emergency exit door and began helping passengers escape from the plane, Neerja was shot and killed by the hijackers, two days before her 23rd birthday.
Shortly afterwards, Pakistan's Special Service Group stormed the aircraft and killed all of the hijackers. Posthumously, Bhanot became the first female recipient and, until 2003, the youngest recipient of the Ashoka Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award of India.
She also received the Tamgha-e-Pakistan, the highest civilian award of Pakistan, in addition to several other accolades from the United States.
Here is Bhanot depicted on a 2004 Indian postage stamp

After her death, her family set up the Neerja Bhanot Trust from the insurance proceeds.
The trust presents two awards every year, one for a flight crew member, worldwide, who acts beyond the call of duty and another, the Neerja Bhanot Award, to an Indian woman who when faced with social injustice, bravely faced the situation and helped other women in similar social distress. The award includes a sum of INR 150,000 (approximately US$2,000) a trophy and a citation.