“We now just have a photo of our son hanging on the wall with a garland on it.We can’t place the Kriti Chakra on his photo as his wife took it away,” the father, Ravi Pratap Singh said.
“The criteria set to NOK is not correct. I have also spoken to defence minister Rajnath Singh about this. Anshuman’s wife doesn’t live with us now, the marriage was just five months old and there is no child,” he added.
But what is Indian Army’s ‘next of kin’ policy?
Captain Anshuman Singh, a 23-year-old Army doctor, lost his life in July 2023 in Siachen while rescuing others in a fire.
The ‘next of kin’ phrase refers to a person’s closest relative — parents, spouse, family member or legal guardian.
By default, when a person enrolls in Army, his parents (if alive) or guardian is named as ‘next of kin’.
According to Army rules, when a cadet or officer gets married, their spouse’s name is listed as their next of kin rather than their parents.
In case of a soldier’s death during service, the ex-gratia amount is given to the ‘next of kin’.
Captain Anshuman Singh received India’s second-highest peacetime gallantry award, Kirti Chakra posthumous.
Earlier, recalling the death of her husband, Smriti had said, “On July 18, we had a long conversation about how our life will be in the next 50 years — we would build a house, have kids. On the morning of 19th I get a call that he is no more. For the first 7-8 hours, we could not accept that anything like this could have happened.”
“Till date, I am trying to cope up … thinking maybe it is not true. Now that I have the Kirti Chakra in my hand, I realise it is true. But it’s okay, he is a hero. We can manage a little of our lives because he has managed a lot. He gave up his life and family so that the other three families could be saved,” she added.
Smriti has not responded to the parent’s statements yet.