Latest news with #Lakhwinder
Hindustan Times
02-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Ferozepur man injured in Pakistan's drone attack dies
Lakhwinder Singh, 55, one of the three members of a family injured in a Pakistani drone strike at Khai Pheme Ki village in Punjab's border district of Ferozepur on May 9, succumbed to his injuries at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) in Ludhiana on Tuesday night. Lakhwinder Singh, 55, one of the three members of a family injured in a Pakistani drone strike at Khai Pheme Ki village in Ferozepur district on May 9, succumbed to his injuries at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana on Tuesday night. (HT file photo) Lakhwinder is the second civilian casualty of the recent cross-border drone strikes carried out by Pakistan in Punjab. His wife, Sukhwinder Kaur, 50, had died on May 13 after sustaining 100% burns in the incident. Their son, Jaswant Singh, 24, who was injured in the legs from the drone debris, has recovered. Ferozepur additional deputy commissioner (general) Damanjit Singh said Lakhwinder had suffered 70% burns after debris from a Pakistani drone, intercepted by India's air defence system, fell on their car sparking a fire that injured the family of three. 'Lakhwinder Singh and his wife Sukhwinder Kaur were rushed to DMCH after the incident. Now an executive magistrate will bring back Lakhwinder's body to his native village for the last rites,' Damanjit said. 'A case for ex-gratia grant for him as per state government norms will be presented to the authorities and shall be dispersed accordingly. The state government will bear his entire medical expenses,' the ADC added. The attack, which occurred around 9pm on May 9 in the border village, 12km from Ferozepur, is the first in which civilians sustained injuries in Punjab. It was part of a broader series of drone incursions from Pakistan that targeted 26 locations across north India, including multiple attempts thwarted in Ferozepur and Fazilka districts. Security agencies are probing the incident with senior officials confirming that most drones were neutralised before causing damage. The family was given financial assistance of ₹ 10 lakh by the chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann after Sukhwinder's death.
NDTV
26-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Rahul Dravid Pushed For Shubman Gill's Elevation Over Another Star, Selectors Couldn't Turn Down
When Lakhwinder Singh Gill, an affluent farmer from Chakh Khere Wala village, which is just 10km from the Indo-Pakistan border, decided to move to Mohali to give wings to his younger child Shubman's cricketing talent, he didn't have a Plan B in mind. The boy was not even nine years old but the only 'toy' he ever played with was a cricket bat gifted by his grandfather Sardar Didar Singh. Shubman Gill's story is as much about adhering to the 3 'Ds' (Discipline, Dedication and Determination) as it is about a pushy father, who was ready to move mountains to see his son wear that India cap. And on June 20, when Shubman walks out wearing that navy blue India blazer over his whites alongside English counterpart Ben Stokes at the iconic Headingley, Lakhwinder can surely raise a toast. It would be for his heady 16-year journey to see that "another boy at another coaching camp" is polished to perfection to become India's next Test captain. Not all sporting stories need to be sob stories. They could also be stories of resilience, obsession for excellence and the sacrifices made as a family for years. Moving out of one's comfort zones, missing social gatherings for years, not having an outing as a family. From a distance, all of it might not look that difficult but monotony in pursuit of excellence certainly has a different ring to it. "We had not attended any wedding festivities for years so that our son's focus on cricket doesn't waiver," Lakhwinder had told PTI when Shubman first came into national prominence with an Under-19 World Cup hundred against Pakistan in 2018. The Gill family had the resources from the beginning. Grandfather Didar could afford a makeshift pitch on his sprawling courtyard at his Fazilka home and the father could risk shifting a family of four to Chandigarh -- far removed from a very comfortable life they had in the village. Gill's story is a classic case of being at the right place at the right time and also doing his bit when it is absolutely necessary. Otherwise how in the world would former India seamer Karsan Ghavri, who was in Mohali in 2011 for a pace bowler's camp organized by PCA under the aegis of BCCI, find out that there were no batters who could face bowlers at the said camp. 'Kadoo bhai' (as he is known in Indian cricket circuit) took a walk with one of his assistants in close vicinity of the PCA Stadium and stopped by to watch an Under-14 game where a young boy's technique caught his attention. He wanted to know more about the boy and approached the only other man around, who stood under the shade of a tree, watching the proceedings intently. "Who's that boy? Any idea?" he asked the man and as fate had it, it was Lakhwinder watching his son bat. "That's my son Shubman and he is 12 years old," the father had answered. The man with 100-plus Test wickets didn't waste one moment before telling Gill to report for pace bowler's camp the very next day. The result was a 12-year-old standing up to the likes of erstwhile India U-19 seamers like Sandeep Sharma with minimum fuss. Fast-tracking Gill into the Punjab U-14 side was then a matter of time after Kadoo bhai's strong recommendation. Serendipity happened not once but twice for Gill. During India A's 2018 tour of England, MSK Prasad's selection committee was picking the next lot for the List A games. "Anmolpreet Singh had a great season and one of the five selectors was bent on putting him on that flight. Anmol had runs in domestic cricket and his choice would have been justified. Now Rahul (Dravid), who was the NCA head and India A coach, had a request for the selectors," a former national selector recalled. "Rahul, everyone knows, is polite to a fault. He had just one request for the panel. He said, 'please select this boy Shubman and accommodate Anmol for another A tour'. "We couldn't turn down his request and Shubman within months of U-19 World Cup triumph was in India A team," he said. Anmolpreet had runs but Shubman had something more, technique and temperament. And at the elite level, these two count as much as runs. Dravid had seen something special and didn't want the boy to hang around in domestic cricket for too long. As Ian Chappell once famously said "too many years in domestic cricket will allow chinks to creep into the system". He played some significant knocks for India A in England during the one-day tri-series but none more important than a double hundred against West Indies A in a 'Test' match a year after. There was no looking back after that. While his Test match batting is still a work in progress but with wrists which are supple, physique which is sinewy and a languid stance to boot, he has had the game for ODIs. The snap pull or a short arm jab over mid-wicket or a cover-drive played with minimal back-lift, Shubman in Blues has been Virat Kohli's extension. In home Tests, he has had his moments but England will be a test of his batsmanship. As far as leadership is concerned, the current IPL is an indicator that he is growing in the role. And perhaps, if Gill is the captain, Gautam Gambhir is the right man to be there during his inception days. The ride won't be a smooth one and there are no guarantees of success. But you can't hold it against Shubman for not giving his 200 percent. Indian cricket is hoping for 'Shubh' Arambh. PTI KHS PM PM PM (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Hindustan Times
16-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: 124 drug smugglers held in statewide search ops
Punjab Police on Thursday carried out a cordon and search operation (CASO) at bus stands across all 28 police districts in the state. Special director general of police (law and order) Arpit Shukla said the operation was executed under the supervision of SP-rank officials, with heavy deployment of police personnel to ensure its success. As many as 200 police teams, comprising over 1,200 personnel and led by 87 gazetted officers, were involved in the day-long operation. A total of 481 suspicious individuals were checked during the drive. In parallel with the CASO, Punjab Police intensified its ongoing campaign against drug trafficking. Raids were conducted at 486 locations across the state, resulting in the arrest of 124 drug smugglers and the registration of 83 first information reports (FIRs). With Thursday's arrests, the total number of drug smugglers apprehended in the past 75 days has reached 11,208. During the raids, police recovered 4.02 kg of heroin, 2.5 kg of opium, ₹27,090 in drug money. In Gurdaspur district, authorities used a bulldozer to demolish the illegally constructed homes of two habitual drug smugglers —Baljinder and Lakhwinder — built on land belonging to the water resource department in Dida Sansia village. According to Gurdaspur SSP Aaditya, Baljinder has 10 FIRs registered under the NDPS and Excise Acts, while Lakhwinder faces 12 such cases. Special DGP Shukla reiterated that Punjab Police is committed to eradicating the drug menace from the state. He highlighted the state government's three-pronged strategy of enforcement, deaddiction, and prevention (EDP). As part of this initiative, police have persuaded 116 individuals to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment.
The Print
11-05-2025
- Health
- The Print
How drone blast turned dinner time into horror for one Ferozepur family day before India-Pak ceasefire
Lying helpless in the surgical ICU of Anil Baghi Hospital in Punjab's Ferozepur district, their son, Jaswant Singh alias Monu, strained to catch a glimpse of his parents through the glass corners of the door as they were shifted to a specialised burn unit in Ludhiana. He could barely move due to the splinter injury he had sustained. Ferozepur: Sukhwinder Kaur's face was grotesquely swollen, her skin scorched from head to toe. She was almost unrecognisable. Her husband, Lakhwinder Singh, lay wrapped in bandages, his lips painfully puffed, his eyes swollen shut. Their relatives wailed around them—some chanting prayers, hoping they would survive. What started as an ordinary dinner for the family of three in Khai Feme Ke village turned catastrophic. Around 8 pm Friday, Lakhwinder, 55, his wife Sukhwinder, 50, and 27-year-old Jaswant sat for an early dinner owing to a district-wide blackout. They had just taken their first bites when an explosive landed on their car and exploded—possibly remnants of a drone, according to police officials. The impact struck their car, parked under a shed housing their cattle, and then a cylinder near where they cook. This was barely 5-10 metres from where they sat. The blast tore through the area where the family sat, engulfing them in fire. 'We had just sat down to have our roti. Something heavy fell on the car and exploded. My mother was the nearest, then my father. I was on the other side. Suddenly everything turned black. My mother couldn't move at all,' Jaswant, a farmer, told ThePrint. Doctors at Anil Baghi Hospital told ThePrint that Sukhwinder had suffered 100 percent burns, while Lakhwinder sustained 72 percent burn injuries. The attack occurred amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. Following India's Operation Sindoor in response to the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan had made several attempts to target civilian areas and military installations across the western and northern sectors of India, including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. An agreement was reached between India and Pakistan late Saturday evening to pause all hostilities. However, despite the announcement, Ferozepur experienced another blackout overnight. Several sensitive areas across Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir saw continued shelling and firing even after the ceasefire annoucement—making the Friday night blast in Khai Feme Ke one of the final civilian casualties before the truce. India had, on 6 May, launched Operation Sindoor, neutralising nine terror camps belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Since then, Pakistan had been launching drones, many of which were intercepted by Indian air defence systems. Ferozepur, a border district, had been placed on high alert. Khai Feme Ke, being even closer to the border, was especially vulnerable. The area had seen multiple blackouts in recent days, including on the night of the strike. Also Read: US takes credit for 'ceasefire', India says it worked it out 'directly' with Pakistan Charred car, grunting cattle, shattered kin As Lakhwinder and Sukhwinder were taken to Ludhiana, family members wept. Lakhwinder's maternal aunt, 75-year-old Vidya Kaur, couldn't fathom why something of this magnitude had happened to them. 'I came rushing from Moga as soon as I heard. I can't comprehend how and why this happened,' she said. Standing beside her, Gardev Kaur, 45, Jaswant's sister-in-law, cried out, 'What have we done? We didn't want this war to happen. Pakistan is a rogue nation. They are hurting innocents. First Pahalgam, and now here in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.' Back in the village, locals debated why the drone targeted this family. Some speculated whether a light had been left on. Others wondered if it was the car's headlight. Jaswant insisted the lights were off. The family had been eating in an open space with no roof, a spot they also used for cooking. 'Car headlights were off. It was just parked there,' he said. Senior police officials confirmed that while the car's lights were off, it was possible that another source of light—perhaps a candle—had drawn the explosive device to the location. Meanwhile, Ferozepur continued to reel under fear and grief. Even without official orders, residents shut shops and hotels, choosing to remain indoors. 'My sister-in-law and brother are both so critical. Only God can save them now,' said Malkar Singh, Lakhwinder's brother, wiping away tears. 'The family has been destroyed. How will anyone come back from this?' At the Singh home, media personnel, police officers, and villagers crowded around. Although security forces had cleared the debris, the burnt frame of the car and scorched ground bore grim testimony to the night's horror. Two buffaloes, who also sustained burn injuries in the blast, grunted in pain throughout the day. Some local residents applied medicine to their wounds. 'Loosen their noose. Give them water,' Malkar shouted, trying to calm the injured animals. (Edited by Radifah Kabir) Also Read: India-Pakistan ceasefire: Fragile calm follows drone sightings, explosions in J&K, Punjab and Gujarat
