5 min readLudhianaUpdated: May 7, 2026 05:06 AM IST
For a long time after Operation Sindoor ended and ceasefire was declared, death followed Jaswant Singh, 33. A drone attack that hit his village Khai Phemeki in the border district of Ferozepur in Punjab on May 9 evening left his parents with serious injuries. His mother succumbed to them on May 13 last year, and his father after a long, painful two-month battle on July 1. “I was left all alone in the world,” says Jaswant.
With pieces of the drone hitting him in the legs, Jaswant says he has been left with wounds that still hurt, with the pain excruciating when he tries to walk fast. After the incident, he moved out of the family home where the drone struck, and now lives with his paternal uncles in nearby Varyamwala village.
With India hitting terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir as part of Operation Sindoor, in response to the killing of tourists in Pahalgam, the border areas had been in Pakistan’s line of fire at the time.
Before-and-after photo of Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur, which served as the primary hub for Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
That evening, Jaswant remembers, multiple drones had been sighted over the Ferozepur Cantonment and adjoining areas. Khai Phemeki lies 25-30 km from the international border, but drones had been sighted that far in as well.
“A blackout was on, when one drone fell in the compound of our house and a parked car caught fire,” he says. While Sukhwinder, 50, sustained 100% burns, 54-year-old Lakhwinder suffered 72% burns.
Jaswant is now managing the family’s 5-acre land in Khai Phemeki village, but due to injuries, he depends on labourers for bulk of the work. The four buffaloes the family had also sustained burn injuries in the drone attack and died later, and Jaswant hasn’t kept any since then.
Doctors advised him to undergo surgery after his wounds had healed for better mobility, Jaswant says. However, he can’t get himself to go through it. “I spent several weeks in hospital… Now I am not keen on surgery. My parents are gone, and I am just carrying on. I can’t be confined to bed yet again.”
Story continues below this ad
The expense too is a factor, adds Jaswant. “For the May 9 injuries, medical expenses were borne by the Punjab government. But who will bear the expenses now? I have no idea and I have no energy left to run from pillar to post finding out. Life is going on… let it be.”
The Punjab government gave the family Rs 10 lakh on Sukhwinder’s death – Rs 5 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s ex-gratia relief fund and the discretionary fund of then Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora (who is now an MLA and a Punjab minister). Villagers say they had to sit on a dharna for Jaswinder to get more after the government announced only Rs 5 lakh.
By the time his father died in July last year, attention had moved on, claims Jaswant. “No compensation was given for the death of my father.”
Jaswant, who has studied till Class 12, says he was also promised a job by district administration officials after his mother’s death, which did not materialise.
Story continues below this ad
Senior BJP leader Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi attacks the Aam Aadmi Party government in the state, saying it made Jaswant wait for adequate compensation and a job. “Normally, the state government is supposed to take care of war casualties and compensate them from the disaster relief fund provided by the Union government.”
A BJP leader from Ferozepur, Anumeet Heera Sodhi, also attacks the Bhawgant Singh Mann government. “Jaswant’s life has been shattered completely. The Punjab government needs to realise its basic responsibility.”
Ferozepur Deputy Commissioner Deepshikha Sharma denies any lapse on their part. “Compensation for both parents was released and their medical expenses taken care of,” Sharma said. Queries to officials on Jaswant’s claims of a job promise didn’t get a response.
As India marks one year of Operation Sindoor, Jaswant says he is proud like any other citizen of the accomplishments of the Indian forces. “But look at my life, which has fallen apart completely… We have become victims of this Indo-Pak conflict for no fault of ours… The government should not forget victims like us.”
