IAF Jaguar crash: Fighter pilot Lokender Singh dies in jet crash, leaves behind wife, newborn

Squadron Leader Lokender Singh, 33, died in a Jaguar fighter jet crash in Rajasthan. A new father, he had just welcomed his first child a month prior.

Squadron Leader Lokender Singh, one of the two Indian Air Force pilots who died in Wednesday's tragic Jaguar fighter jet crash near Churu in Rajasthan, had just stepped into fatherhood. Barely a month ago, on June 10, he and his wife welcomed their first child, a baby boy.

The 33-year-old fighter pilot, originally from the Dev Colony area in Rohtak, Haryana, had been commissioned into the Indian Air Force in 2016. He was known in his family and community as a quiet, brilliant student who had dreamt of flying for the nation since his school days.

That dream took him to the National Defence Academy (NDA) and then to the cockpit of one of the IAF's most powerful aircraft.

Lokender got married during the pandemic. His wife, still recovering from childbirth and staying at her parental home in Hisar, was shattered when the news of her husband's death reached her on Wednesday morning.

This was the third Jaguar crash since March, but for Lokender's family, it wasn't a statistic, it was the loss of a beloved son, brother, husband, and a brand-new father who had yet to hold his baby in his arms for more than a few fleeting moments.

Born into a family rooted in service and education, Lokender was the youngest of three siblings. His father, now retired, served as a superintendent at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) in Rohtak, and his mother was a schoolteacher. His elder brother works in a multinational company, while his sister recently completed her tenure as a short service officer in the IAF.

The family originally hails from Kheri-Sadh village on the Rohtak-Delhi road but has lived in Rohtak city for many years. Speaking to a news organisation, Joginder Singh Sindhu, a relative, described Lokender as "a bright, disciplined child who always knew what he wanted, and chased it with quiet determination."

Now, a family that was preparing to celebrate new life is left grieving an unimaginable loss, a young pilot whose dreams soared high, and whose sacrifice will not be forgotten.