Anshuman Singh, KC

Biography

Captain Anshuman Singh hailed from Bardiha Dalpat village of Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh and was born in 1997. The son of army veteran Subedar Ravi Pratap Singh and Smt Manju Singh, he was the youngest of three siblings. He completed his schooling at the Rashtriya Military School, Chail, in Himachal Pradesh, where his inclination towards the armed forces took root. He was later selected for the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, to pursue his graduation in medicine. On completing his studies at AFMC, Pune, he was commissioned into the Army Medical Corps on 19 March 2020, dedicating himself to providing medical care and support to fellow servicemen in both peace and war. By July 2023 he was serving as a Regimental Medical Officer with 403 Field Hospital, attached to 26 Punjab, deployed on the Siachen Glacier under Operation Meghdoot. The forward posts, manned at heights over 19,000 feet, remained inaccessible during winter and exposed troops to extreme risk and inhospitable terrain. In the early hours of 19 July 2023, around 3 a.m., an ammunition stockpile caught fire at the Chandan Dropping Zone. Captain Anshuman Singh heard the call of fire and rushed out of his fibre glass hut. Realising that soldiers were trapped, he leapt into action with utter disregard for his own safety, rescuing four to five individuals from an adjacent smoke-filled hut and guiding them to safety with calm, clear instructions. Seeing the Medical Investigation room engulfed in flames, he went back into his hut to retrieve the medical aid box, but high-velocity winds spread the fire and trapped him inside. He could not be rescued despite repeated efforts, laying down his life at the age of 26. For his exceptional bravery and supreme sacrifice, Captain Anshuman Singh was awarded the Kirti Chakra posthumously.