Ferozepur: Sukhwinder Kaur, who suffered burn injuries after a Pakistani drone struck her home in Punjab’s Ferozepur district last week, succumbed to her injuries in the early hours of Tuesday.
The 50-year-old, who had suffered 100 percent burn injuries, died during treatment, a senior police officer confirmed to ThePrint. Meanwhile, her husband, Lakhwinder Singh, is still battling for his life in Ludhiana’s Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). The 55-year-old suffered 72 percent burn injuries.
The couple’s 27-year-old son, Jaswant Singh, also known as Monu, did not get any burns but was admitted to the surgical ICU at the Anil Baghi Hospital in Ferozepur after suffering a splinter injury.
On Friday, the family of three had sat down for dinner around 8 pm when an explosive landed on their car in Khai Feme Ke village 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 cooked. This was barely 5-10 metres from where they sat. The blast tore through the area where the family sat, engulfing them in fire.
The couple was transferred to Ludhiana after initially being admitted to the Anil Baghi hospital. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced an ex gratia sum of Rs 5 lakh for the family Tuesday.
On Friday, a blackout was imposed in most districts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat after violations along the Line of Control and projectiles, including drones and loitering munitions, by Pakistan. This followed Operation Sindoor, when, on the intervening night of 6 and 7 May, India struck nine terror complexes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the deadly Pahalgam attack.
An agreement was reached between India and Pakistan late Saturday evening to pause all hostilities, making the Friday night blast in Khai Feme Ke one of the final civilian casualties before the truce.
On Saturday, when ThePrint visited the family at the Baghi hospital, relatives said they were praying for the recovery of the family.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)