The burnt car still stands in the courtyard in this Ferozepur border village. The house remains locked and silent. Nearly a year after a drone explosion devastated his family in Khai Pheme Ki village, Jaswant Singh continues to live with the trauma of that night. The lone survivor no longer stays in the house filled with painful memories.
On May 9 last year, debris from a Pakistani drone, intercepted mid-air by the Indian Army’s air defence system, fell on Jaswant’s home in the border village near Ferozepur. The impact triggered a powerful explosion, critically injuring his parents, Lakhwinder Singh (57) and Sukhwinder Kaur (50).
Sukhwinder Kaur died on May 12 while undergoing treatment. Lakhwinder Singh battled severe injuries for nearly 50 days before succumbing on July 1 at a private hospital in Ludhiana. Jaswant, who was also injured, survived the blast but lost both his parents.
Jaswant now lives with relatives in Wariam Singh Wala village in the Mamdot block. Family members say the emotional wounds remain deep and the memories continue to haunt him. The government provided him a compensation of Rs 20 lakh, while the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) extended financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh.
“Money cannot compensate for human life. Jaswant has been shattered after losing his parents. Whenever he goes near the house, the memories return,” his uncle Gurbachan Singh said, urging the state government to provide him a job for long-term support.
During Operation Sindoor, the Indian armed forces conducted pre-dawn missile strikes on May 7 last year which targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes followed the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed civilians.
In response, Pakistan tried attacking Indian military bases between May 8 and May 10. Indian forces successfully thwarted these attempts and reportedly caused significant damage to several Pakistani military installations, including air bases, air defence systems and command centres.
Also read: India-Pak relations beyond Operation Sindoor
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