The parents of Captain Anshuman Singh, who lost his life in a fire incident in Siachen in July last year, demanded that the rules for awarding the Kirti Chakra should be changed.
According to Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, Captain Anshuman's parents, Ravi Pratap Singh and his wife Manju Singh have claimed that their daughter-in-law has left their home and changed her address.
They also stated that they don’t have any mementos of the Kirti Chakra and told the media that everything was given to the daughter-in-law.
They demanded that the rules for this honor should be changed, as daughters-in-law leave home, leaving the parents with nothing in such cases.
Parents of Anshuman Singh met with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday and asked him to raise this issue and change the NOK rules.
Speaking with TV9 Bharatvarsha, Ravi Pratap Singh said, "The criteria set for "next of kin" 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 only five months old, and there is no child. We only have a photo of our son hanging on the wall with a garland on it."
"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.
Smriti Singh's reaction
Reacting to allegations from her in-laws, Captain Anshuman's wife, Smriti Singh, told Dainik Bhaskar that she is not aware of the claims and said, "Everyone will speak according to their own thinking. I have no objections."
What are "next of kin" rules?
The next of kin (NOK) rules refer to a person's closest relatives or legal representatives. As per army rules, if something happens to a service member, the ex-gratia payment is made to the NOK.
When a cadet or officer joins the Army, their parents or guardians' names are listed as NOK. Upon marriage, the spouse's name replaces the parents' name as the next of kin.
Several tents of the Indian Army caught fire in the Siachen Glacier. In the incident, Regimental Medical Officer Captain Anshuman Singh was martyred. Anshuman Singh had gotten married just five months earlier, on February 10. Captain Anshuman had arrived in Siachen only 15 days prior.
Last week, he was awarded the Kirti Chakra, India's second-highest gallantry award, posthumously.
