'We met in College, it was love at first sight': Widow of soldier who died in Siachen shares love story

In a heart wrenching display of courage and fortitude, Smriti Singh, adorned in a white sari, received the prestigious Kirti Chakra, India's second-highest peacetime gallantry award, from President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday. She is the wife of the late Captain Anshuman Singh, who tragically lost his life while heroically saving his comrades during a fire at Siachen in July 2023.

A video shared by Defence Ministry of India and DD National is now doing rounds on social media capturing the emotional moment as Smriti Singh and Captain Singh's mother accept the honour from the President. The footage shows Smriti humbly folding her hands as a tribute praises her husband's ultimate sacrifice.

The tragic event unfolded in July 2023 when a short circuit sparked a fire at an Indian Army ammunition depot in Siachen during the early hours of the morning.

Amidst the chaos, Captain Singh very bravely assisted in rescuing individuals trapped inside a fragile hut. Despite the escalating danger as the flames spread to a neighbouring medical facility, Captain Singh, in a selfless act to retrieve vital medication, sustained grave injuries and tragically lost his life.

Smriti talked about her journey with Singh in the video starting of with how they met in an engineering college. She referred to her first interaction with Anshuman as, "Love at first sight." She said how Captain Singh and her were in a long-distance relationship for eight long years after which they got married in February last year. 

Talking about the Siachen fire and her last interaction with Captain Singh Smriti said, "Unfortunately, within two months of marriage, he got posted to Siachen. 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."