‘He gave up life to save others’, says wife of Captain who died in Siachen fire; receives Kirti Chakra

NEW DELHI: “He is a hero. He gave up his life to save others,” said an inconsolable Smriti Singh, the widow of Captain Anshuman Singh, while 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 his fellow men's lives and trying to protect critical medical equipment during a fire incident at an Army dump on the world’s highest battlefield, the Siachen Glacier.

Captain Singh was posted with the 26th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment as a medical officer at Siachen. On July 19, 2023, an ammunition dump caught fire in the dead of night. The Captain saw a fibreglass hut engulfed in flames and quickly acted to save those trapped inside. He successfully rescued several individuals, but while trying to save critical medical equipment from a medical investigation centre that 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 the Kirti Chakra (posthumously) for his act of conspicuous gallantry and sacrifice.” Smriti Singh, along with the Captain’s mother Manju Singh, received the award from the President.

After receiving the Kirti Chakra, Smriti Singh, in a video posted by a defense ministry spokesperson, recalled, “He once told me, ‘I would die with the brass on my chest. I would not die an ordinary death’.”

Recalling her first meeting with Captain 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.

After the incident last year, Captain 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.


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