National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma has claimed.
That the derogatory comment about Smriti Singh, the widow of Kirti Chakra awardee Captain Anshuman Singh, was made by a Pakistani social media user.
Earlier, the NCW took up the matter on its own accord and filed a complaint with the Delhi Police. A case was lodged under charges of insulting a woman’s modesty and publishing obscene material online.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Rekha Sharma said, “It was a very low-rated comment which we saw on social media and immediately took suo motu cognisance of it. Police have filed an FIR against this person. But most likely the person is from Pakistan.”
Captain Anshuman Singh was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra, India’s second-highest peacetime gallantry award, for his bravery during a fire at an army camp in Siachen Glacier last year. Smriti Singh and her mother-in-law accepted the honour from President Droupadi Murmu on July 5.
The NCW complaint followed outrage on social media after a user posted a disrespectful comment on a photo of Smriti Singh receiving the award.
Delhi Police have registered an FIR with their Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operation (IFSO) unit. Police are seeking details about the social media account that posted the comment. The NCW has demanded a swift investigation and a report on the action taken within three days.
“Many such comments are being made and we are taking those comments very seriously and complaining to the police to file FIRs in those cases as well,” Sharma added.
Addressing the allegations by Captain Singh’s father, Ravi Pratap Singh, that their daughter-in-law took the gallantry award to her home in Punjab’s Gurdaspur along with their son’s other belongings, Sharma urged restraint and called on both sides to hash out any issues through talks.