After funeral, daughter-in-law took everything, left: Captain Anshuman Singh's parents
What's the story
The parents of the late Captain Anshuman Singh have alleged that their daughter-in-law, Smriti Singh, took their son's posthumously awarded Kirti Chakra and all his belongings and left, a day after his funeral.
Anshuman's father, Ravi Pratap Singh, claimed that Smriti also changed his son's official documents' permanent address from Lucknow to Gurdaspur to ensure all correspondence concerning his son was directed to her.
The Indian Army captain tragically died in a fire incident in Siachen in July 2023.
Claims
After tehravi, she insisted on going back: Anshuman's father
"After the wedding, she started staying with my daughter in Noida. On July 19, 2023, when we received information about Anshuman's death, I called them to Lucknow, and we went to Gorakhpur for his last rites," Anshuman's father told India Today.
"But after tehravi, (a funeral ritual), she (Smriti) insisted on going back to Gurdaspur," he claimed.
"The next day, she went to Noida with her mother and took the photo album...other belongings of Anshuman with her," he added.
Discontent
Held my son's Kirti Chakra only once: Mother
Similary, the late captain's mother, Manju Singh, claimed that she held the Kirti Chakra for a photo once on July 5 at the insistence of Army officers, but Smriti took it from her hands afterward.
The parents also claimed that their daughter-in-law received most of the entitlements, and the only thing left with them is a photo of their son "hanging on the wall."
Intervention
'We want the definition of NOK be fixed'
Left with little option, they have called for a change in the Indian Army's "next of kin" (NOK) policy.
"Anshuman's wife doesn't live with us now, the marriage was just five months old and there is no child," Ravi told TV9 Bharatvarsh.
"That is why we want that the definition of NOK be fixed. It should be decided that if the wife of the martyr stays in the family, who has how much dependency," he added.
Tribute
Remembering Captain Anshuman Singh's bravery and sacrifice
Under current regulation, when a person joins the army, their parents or guardians' names are registered as their "next of kin." However, after a person marries, their spouse replaces their parents in the NOK record.
Captain Singh was posted with 26 Punjab as a medical officer in the Siachen Glacier area.
He died on July 19, 2023, in a fire while rescuing others trapped in an Indian Army ammunition dump.
He was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra on July 5.