It was love at first sight: Late Captain Anshuman Singh's widow Smriti Singh shares their heart-touching love story

In July 2023, Captain Anshuman Singh of the Indian Army showed exceptional bravery and rescued people in a fire accident that took place in Siachen. However, in the process, Captain Anshuman Singh lost his own life after sustaining severe burns and injuries. Now, a year later, the late Captain Anshuman Singh was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra by President Droupadi Murmu for his exceptional heroic deed.

For the unversed, the Kirti Chakra is the second-highest peacetime gallantry award in India. On July 5, late Captain Singh's Kirti Chakra was received by his widow Smriti Singh.




After the award ceremony, in a heart-touching video interview, Smriti Singh recalled her love story with her late husband. "It was love at first sight," Smriti said, remembering the first time when she met her late husband in college. "We met on the first day of college. I would not be dramatic, but it was love at first sight. After a month, he was selected for the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC)... We met in an engineering college, and he got selected into a medical college," Smriti shared.

Remembering her husband, she further said that he was a "super intelligent guy".

While the duo fell in love in their very first meeting, they were in a long-distance relationship for the next eight years after which they decided to finally get married. "After just one month of meeting, it was a long-distance relationship for eight long years and then we thought we should get married now, and so we did," Smriti said, sharing her unusual love story.

But fate had something else in store for the newlywed couple. Just months after their wedding in February 2023, Captain Singh was posted in Siachen where he untimely lost his life on July 19, 2023. Recalling the last conversation she had with her late husband, Smriti shared with deep sorrow, "On July 18 (2023), we had a long conversation about how our life will be in the next 50 years. We are going to build a house, we are going to have kids, whatnot. On the 19th morning (the next day), I get up, I get a call that he is no more."

She further shared how Captain Singh's untimely death was a huge blow to their family; a news which they are still trying to cope with. "For the first 7-8 hours, we could not accept that anything of that sort had happened. To date, I am not coping. Just trying to figure it out, thinking maybe it is not true," Smriti said.

She further added how her late husband never wanted to die an ordinary death and said, "But 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 army families could be saved".

Captain Anshuman Singh's exceptional heroic deed at the time of crisis, which saved three other lives while putting his own at risk, is a testament to his great love for his duty and the country.