Captain Anshuman Singh’s parents seek revision in Indian army’s ‘next of kin’ rule

The parents of Captain Anshuman Singh, who died a hero’s death in July last year in Siachen and was recently awarded the Kirti Chakra posthumously, have asked for changes in the Indian military’s next-of-kin (NOK) criteria for financial assistance to family members after a soldier’s death.

The Kirti Chakra is India’s second-highest peacetime gallantry award.

Captain Anshuman Singh died in a major fire in Siachen in July 2023.

Captain Anshuman’s parents Ravi Pratap Singh and Manju Singh, speaking to the news channel TV9 Bharatvarsh, said that their daughter-in-law Smriti Singh does not live with them now, and she receives most of the entitlements after their son’s death.

Ravi Pratap Singh told the channel, “The NOK criteria is not correct. I have spoken to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh about this. Our daughter-in-law does not live with us now, they were married only for five months, and they did not have any children. We only have a photo of our son hanging on the wall with a garland on it.”

“We want the definition of NOK to be changed. If the wife of the martyr does not stay with the martyr’s family, it should be decided who is entitled to how much,” he continued.

Anshuman’s mother Manju Singh said they want the government to change the NOK rules so that other parents don’t have to suffer.

NOK rules

According to the rules of the Indian military, when a person dies in service, the ex-gratia amount is given to the next of kin (NOK).

When a person joins the military, his or her parents or guardians’ names are recorded as the NOK. When the person gets married, the spouse becomes the NOK.

Captain Anshuman and Smriti

Captain Anshuman Singh was a medical officer in the 26 Punjab Regiment, and was stationed in Siachen during Operation Meghdoot.

On July 19, 2023, there was an explosion in an Indian Army ammunitions dump where he was posted due to a short circuit. Captain Anshuman rescued several people from the blaze.

The fire then spread to an adjacent medical investigation room. Anshuman died while trying to retrieve life-saving medicine from the room.

Anshuman and Smriti met on the first day they joined an engineering college. The widow said it was “love at first sight”. But after a month, Anshuman obtained selection into the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), and they were separated. She said they maintained a long-distance relationship for the next 8 years, until they finally got married.

Just two months after their marriage, Anshuman was posted to Siachen.

Smriti said she had a long chat with her husband on July 18. They discussed how their life was going to be, how they would build a house, raise kids, and so on.

The next day, she received a call informing her that her husband Captain Anshuman Singh was no more.

She said she was unable to come to terms with his loss even one year after his death.

Lewd comment row

A controversy has erupted about a lewd comment that was made by a resident of Delhi on X.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan posted a photo on X of Captain Anshuman Singh’s widow, Smriti Singh receiving the Kirti Chakra award from President Droupadi Murmu.

An individual from Delhi, Ahmad K, made a lewd remark in response to this post. Several other users reacted to this post angrily and demanded that action be taken against him.

The NCW issued a letter saying the offence violates Section 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which penalises acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman, and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which deals with the punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has asked the Delhi Police to register an FIR against the individual and to arrest him at the earliest.