Bal Puraskar awardee from Ferozepur wins Rs 5 lakh lottery

After being conferred with the Rashtriya Bal Puraskar for his role during Operation Sindoor, Shavan Singh (10) from Taran Wali village in Mamdot block of the district has now won a lottery worth Rs 5 lakh.

Notably, Shavan first made headlines during Operation Sindoor, when he was honoured with the title of “Youngest Civil Warrior” by the Army’s Golden Arrow Division in recognition of his patriotic spirit and selfless service. At the time, he had voluntarily served chilled water, milk, tea, lassi and ice to Army jawans stationed near the border amid war hysteria.

Later, in December last year, he was awarded the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony in New Delhi.

Shavan’s father, Sona Singh, said he had purchased 50 lottery tickets worth Rs 7 each for a total of Rs 350 from Mamdot at around 5.15 pm yesterday. “Even before I reached home, I received a phone call informing me that one of the tickets had won the Rs 5 lakh prize,” he said.

Sona further shared that he had tried his luck with lotteries on several occasions earlier, winning smaller amounts of Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,200. “It was my son who wanted to buy the tickets this time. I followed his advice, but never imagined we would win such a big prize,” he added.

Celebrations were held today at Udham Singh Chowk in the city, where the lottery dealer felicitated Sona Singh and his son, Shavan Singh.