‘Had a long chat about our future, having kids. Next day, he died’ | India News

NEW DELHI: “He is a hero. He gave up his life to save others,” said an inconsolable Smriti Singh, wife of Captain Anshuman Singh, as she stood before President Droupadi Murmu with folded hands to accept the Kirti Chakra, India’s second-highest gallantry honour, awarded posthumously to her husband on Friday for saving lives and trying to protect critical medical equipment during a fire at an Army dump on the world’s highest battlefield, the Siachen Glacier.
Posted as a medical officer with the 26th Battalion of Punjab Regiment at Siachen, Capt Singh died on July 19, 2023. The day before, his wife recalled in a video posted by the defence ministry, “we had a long conversation about how our life was going to be in the next 50 years. We would build a house, have kids…” The next day, she got a call that he had died.
Capt Anshuman Singh believed his death would not be ordinary, and it wasn’t.
“He once told me, ‘I would die with the brass on my chest. I would not die an ordinary death’,” his wife recalled in a video posted by the defence ministry spokesperson, after she received the Kirti Chakra awarded to him posthumously from President Droupadi Murmu on Friday.
On July 19, 2023, an ammunition dump caught fire in the dead of the night. Capt Singh, posted as a medical officer with the 26th Battalion of Punjab Regiment at Siachen, saw a fibreglass hut engulfed in flames and acted quickly to save those trapped inside. He rescued several people, but while trying to save equipment from a medical investigation centre that had also caught fire, he laid down his life.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said: “Disregarding his own safety, Captain Anshuman Singh exhibited exceptional bravery and resolve to rescue many people during a major fire incident in Siachen. He was awarded Kirti Chakra (posthumously) for his act of conspicuous gallantry and sacrifice.”
Accompanying Smriti at the investiture ceremony was Capt Singh’s mother, Manju Singh.
In the video, recalling her first meeting with Capt Singh, Smriti said, “We met on the first day of college. I don’t want to be dramatic, but it was love at first sight. After a month, he got selected into the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC). We met at an engineering college, but then he got selected for medical college. Super intelligent guy. From then on, after just one month of meeting, it was a long-distance relationship for eight long years.”
“Then we decided to get married. Unfortunately, within two months of our marriage, he got posted to Siachen,” she said.
“On July 18, we had a long conversation about how our life was going to be in the next 50 years. We would build a house, have kids… On the morning of July 19, I got a call that he was no more. For the next 7-8 hours, we were not ready to accept that anything of this sort had happened. Now that I have the Kirti Chakra in my hand, maybe it is true. It’s okay; he’s a hero. We can manage our lives. But he gave his life to save the other three families, his Army family,” Smriti said, trying to hold back her tears.Capt Singh was cremated with full state honours in Bhagalpur in UP’s Deoria district, on July 22, 2023.
President Murmu also presented 26 Shaurya Chakras, including seven posthumously, to personnel of the armed forces, Central Armed Police Forces, and state/UT police during a defence investiture ceremony.