Widow of Galwan hero, who saved over 30 soldiers, becomes Army officer

NEW DELHI: Lt Rekha Singh, the widow of Naik Deepak Singh who was killed in Galwan Valley clashes with Chinese troops in June 2020, was on Saturday commissioned into the Army as an officer and has been posted to a frontline unit in eastern Ladakh, officials said.

29-year-old Rekha has been deployed with the Army Ordnance Corps after she completed her training at the Chennai-based Officers Training Academy (OTA).

The officials said Lt Rekha Singh has been posted at a frontline unit in eastern Ladakh.

Her husband, Naik Singh was from the Army Medical Corps, and he was later attached to the 16th Battalion of Bihar Regiment.

Naik Singh was posthumously awarded Vir Chakra in 2021 for showing indomitable courage in rendering medical support to the injured soldiers during the clashes.

Vir Chakra is the country’s third-highest wartime gallantry award after Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra.

Twenty Indian Army personnel laid down their lives in the fierce hand-to-hand combat in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley clash on June 15, 2020, an incident that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

According to his Vir Chakra citation, he played a pivotal role in rendering treatment and saving the lives of over 30 Indian soldiers.

“Naik Deepak Singh displayed unmatched professionalism in hostile conditions, unflinching devotion and made supreme sacrifice for the nation,” it said.

“Woman Cadet Rekha Singh, wife of Late Naik(Nursing Assistant) Deepak Singh, #VirChakra(Posthumous) got commissioned into #IndianArmy after completing her training from #OTA #Chennai.,” the Army tweeted. It said Deepak Singh made the supreme sacrifice during the Galwan Valley clashes. ↔ More on P5