A cross-border drone attack that scorched a quiet village in Punjab’s Ferozepur district has claimed its second victim — weeks after the first.
Lakhwinder Singh, 55, who sustained critical burns in the May 9 drone strike allegedly originating from Pakistan, succumbed to his injuries late July 1 night.
His wife, Sukhwinder Kaur, had died four days after the attack, having suffered 100% burns.
The couple’s only son, 24-year-old Jaswant Singh, is now left to grapple with grief, physical injury, and a future engulfed in uncertainty.
“Both my parents are gone. We’ve become victims of this Indo-Pak conflict for no fault of ours,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “No official has even come to see us. We haven’t received my father’s body.
Is this how the government treats war victims?”
The attack came in the immediate aftermath of Operation Sindoor—India’s retaliatory military action following the Pahalgam terror strike.
That evening, as tensions surged across the Line of Control, multiple drones were seen hovering over Ferozepur’s cantonment zone and surrounding villages.
One such drone reportedly crashed into Lakhwinder’s home in Khai Pheme Ki village, about 30 km from the international border. The resulting blaze consumed the house, killed livestock, destroyed the family’s vehicle, and left all three members severely injured.
Despite being shifted to Ludhiana’s Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, doctors were unable to save either parent.
Jaswant, who sustained shrapnel injuries to his legs, is now left alone with five acres of farmland and ruins of what was once home.
“We’ve lost everything—my family, my future, and our home. And yet, there is silence from the administration,” he said.
The Punjab government had earlier announced ₹10 lakh in compensation after Sukhwinder’s death—split between ex-gratia relief from the Chief Minister’s office and discretionary funds from Sanjeev Arora, then Rajya Sabha MP. BJP leader Heera Sodhi, son of former MLA Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, has now called for more robust state support.
“This is a war casualty, and the state must act like it,” Sodhi said. “We are demanding a government job for Jaswant and an additional ₹10 lakh compensation for Lakhwinder Singh.
The Centre has approved the same for Sukhwinder’s death. Punjab must step up too.”
As tensions simmer along the border beneath a tenuous ceasefire, the tragedy of Khai Pheme Ki village serves as a sobering reminder of the human cost borne by civilians — casualties in a conflict they never chose.