Smriti Singh, the widow of Captain Anshuman Singh, stood before President Droupadi Murmu with folded hands. Alongside her stood Captain Singh's mother, their shared grief palpable. Both of them were at the Rashtrapati Bhavan to accept the Kirti Chakra, India's second-highest gallantry award, awarded posthumously to Captain Singh for his bravery during a fire incident in Siachen.
"He would tell me, 'I would die with the brass on my chest. I would not die an ordinary death,'" Smriti Singh recalled.
"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 in a medical college. Super intelligent guy. From then on, after just one month of meeting, it was a long-distance relationship for eight long years," she added. "Then we decided to get married. Unfortunately, within two months of our marriage, he got posted in Siachen."
Captain Singh was posted with 26 Punjab as a medical officer in the Siachen Glacier area. On July 19, 2023, a short circuit led to a fire in an Indian Army ammunition dump around 3 am. Captain Singh saw a fibreglass hut engulfed in flames and immediately acted to save those trapped inside. He successfully rescued four to five individuals, however, the fire soon spread to a nearby medical investigation room.
Captain Singh went back into the blazing structure. Despite his efforts, he could not escape the inferno, and was trapped inside before dying.
"Unfortunately, within two months of our marriage, he got posted in Siachen," Ms Singh recounted. "On July 18, we had a long conversation about how our life would be in the next 50 years. On July 19 morning, I got a call that he is no more," she said. "For the next 7-8 hours we were not ready to accept that anything of such sort has happened."
"Now that I have the Kirti Chakra in my hand, maybe it is true. But it's okay, he's a hero. We can manage a little of our lives. He has given all his life to save other families, his army family," Ms Singh said.
Captain Singh was cremated with full state honours in Bhagalpur in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district on July 22, 2023.
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