Rohtak IAF pilot killed in Raj Jaguar crash had become father a month ago

Squadron Leader Lokender Singh Sindhu, one of the two Indian Air Force pilots who lost their lives in Wednesday's Jaguar fighter jet crash near Churu, Rajasthan, had recently become a father.

- Sunil Rahar

The 32-year-old pilot had rejoined duty on June 30, just weeks after the birth of his son on June 10.

Sindhu, a native of Kheri Sadh village in Haryana’s Rohtak district, was married to Surbhi Sindhu, a PhD scholar. She had gone to her parental home in Hisar for the delivery. Still at her maternal home, she received the devastating news of her husband's death while he was on a routine training mission.

The crash has cast a pall of gloom over Rohtak’s Dev Colony, where Lokender’s family resides. His father, Joginder Singh, a retired superintendent from Maharshi Dayanand University, and his mother, a retired school teacher, are grief-stricken yet proud of his sacrifice. His elder brother, Gyanendra, works with a multinational company.