Last rites of Army officer, who died in ammo dump fire, to be performed in Deoria today

GORAKHPUR/LUCKNOW The last rites of Captain Anshuman Singh, who was serving as the Regimental Medical Officer at the Siachen Glacier, will be performed in Deoria’s Bhagalpur town on Friday.

The Army man died in the wee hours of Wednesday while trying to rescue other personnel from a fire which broke out in the ammunition dump in West Ladakh near Siachen Glacier. Three others, who sustained burn injuries in the fire, are undergoing treatment at the Chandigarh Command Hospital.

While his body was supposed to reach Gorakhpur on Thursday, the Army aircraft could not take off from Siachen due to inclement weather conditions. Ravi Pratap Singh (alias Akhilesh Singh), the father of Late Captain Anshuman Singh, has confirmed that Air Force officials informed them that the soldier’s body could not be brought to Gorakhpur on Thursday as the flight could not take off due to bad weather conditions there.

Sharing further details, Ravi Pratap Singh said that around a dozen of his family members are currently at the Gorakhpur airport guest house to receive the body and bring it to their native district of Deoria by road.

The last rites will be performed on Friday after a wreath-laying ceremony that is likely to take place in Gorakhpur, he added. General Officer Commanding of Purvi Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (PUPMP) Sub-Area will be performing the wreath-laying ceremony in Gorakhpur.

Anshuman Singh (26) was the youngest among three siblings. His elder brother and elder sister, along with other members of the family who live in Lucknow, have reached the family’s native Bardiha Dalpat village under the Lar police station jurisdiction.

Earlier, on February 10 this year, Anshuman Singh had tied the knot with Shristi Singh, who is working as an engineer in a multinational company in New Delhi.

CM expresses grief, announces ₹50L ex gratia

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the death of Regimental Medical Officer Captain Anshuman Singh. He also announced ex gratia of ₹50 lakh for the bereaved family. Additionally, the CM has also said that he would provide a government job to one member of Captain Anshuman’s family. Separately, a road in Deoria will also be named after the Captain’s name.