“My daughter-in-law took Kirti Chakra with her; we only have our son’s photo hanging on the wall with a garland,” said the parents of Captain Anshuman Singh with trembling voices. Captain Singh received the second-highest gallantry award posthumously after he died during a fire incident in Siachen in July last year.  

Ravi Pratap Singh and Manju Singh made this appeal during interviews with various media outlets. They also called for a change in the Indian Army’s ‘next of kin’ (NOK) policy, which determines the distribution of financial assistance to the families of deceased army personnel.  

What Do Singh’s Parents Claim?  

This comes just days after Smriti Singh received the ‘Kirti Chakra’ awarded posthumously to Anshuman Singh. The army man’s widow garnered media attention for her last conversation with Singh before his tragic passing.  

However, their parents claim that they were not even able to touch the honorary chakra given for their son’s sacrifice. They said that the couple were not even married that long, but Smriti receives most of the benefits in just five months of marrige. The father, Ravi Pratap Singh, reportedly said that Smriti does not even live with them, but she took all his son’s belongings with him, and they are left with just a photo hanging on their wall with garland on it.  

On July 5, President Droupadi Murmu presented the award to Smriti Singh, Captain Anshuman Singh’s wife, and Manju Singh, his mother, at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Singh’s parents are the co-recipients of the Kirti Chakra.  

What Is Army’s NOK Rule?  

When a person joins the army, the names of his parents or guardians are recorded as his ‘next of kin,’ i.e., the person’s closest relatives. However, when the cadet or the officer marries, the spouse replaces his parents in the NOK record.  

Anshuman’s Death On Duty  

Captain Anshuman Singh, the eldest son of his parents, served as a medical officer in the Siachen Glacier area. He died in July of last year after suffering severe burns and injuries in a fire accident.  

Captain Anshuman saved fellow Army officers trapped inside a hut but lost his life when the fire spread to a medical investigation shelter, trapping him inside.