New Delhi: In a recent development in the political sphere, a very peculiar case has emerged from the field of the armed forces. A few days after the martyred army medical personnel, Captain Anshuman Singh received the Kirti Chakra, his parents called for a ramification in the NOK rules of the armed forces.
The policy of NOK is there in the armed forces to provide a safe passage financially for the relatives of the deceased. Captain Singh who died in Siachen last year was supposed to give his properties and holdings to his parents. However. due to NOK, all the major property shares have been transferred to his wife Smriti.
How do NOK rules apply?
The NOK or the Next of Kin rule is applied to a person’s closest relatives or legal heirs. According to the rules, in case of any extraordinary situation which leads to the unnatural death of any armed forces personnel, the properties under the holding of that person will be given to NOK. In other words, the rule is the same as a nominee in a bank.
The NOK is issued to a cadet or officer’s parents when he/she joins the Army. However, there is a little twist to that, in the case of a marriage the NOK is shifted from the parents to the spouse’s name. Naturally, according to the above rules, the NOK for Captain Anshuman was shifted to his wife’s name, Smriti.
However, this policy has come under scathing criticism from both Ravi Pratap Singh and Manju Singh, Anshuman’s parents. Berating the entire incident, Mr and Mrs Singh remarked, “The criteria set to NOK 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 just 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.”
