Who was Squadron Leader Lokender Singh Sindhu? The IAF pilot who was killed in Jaguar crash returned to duty only days ago

Two pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF)—Squadron Leader Lokendra Singh Sindhu and Flight Lieutenant Rishi Raj Singh—were killed when a Jaguar fighter jet crashed near Churu district of Rajasthan during a routine training mission.

 

Squadron Leader Sindhu, who hailed from Kheri Sadh village in Rohtak district of Haryana, was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in 2016.

 

He had become a father on June 10, and returned to duty only on June 30. 

 

His wife is a doctor by profession. His father retired as superintendent from Maharshi Dayanand University, and his mother was a school teacher.

 

“He (Squadron Leader Sindhu) pursued his school education from Maharshi Dayanand University’s campus school and he joined the Air Force in 2011. He was posted at Suratgarh in Rajasthan,” Hindustan Times quoted a family member as saying.

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The Times of India quoted one of his family members as saying that he was a bright student from childhood.

 

While his brother works at an MNC, his sister had completed her tenure as a short-service commissioned officer in the IAF recently, according to media reports.

 

The IAF had said it "deeply regrets" the loss of lives and stands firmly with the bereaved families in this time of grief.

Defence