Former Indian shot put medalist arrested in US for killing wife and mother
Washington: Iqbal Singh, a former Asian Championship bronze medalist for India, has been charged with murder in the US after he chillingly admitted to killing his wife and mother, according to media reports.
Singh, 62, from Delaware County in Pennsylvania called police on Sunday morning to admit his crime, The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted officials as saying.
When police arrived at Singh's home in Newtown Township, they found Singh covered in blood, suffering from self-inflicted stab wounds. Inside were the bodies of the two women, the report said.
Singh was charged on Monday with first- and third-degree murder, court records show, and remained in custody, denied bail given the nature of the charges. There was no indication that he had hired an attorney, it said.
The former shot-putter won a bronze medal at the 1983 Asian Athletics Championship, which was held in Kuwait. This remained the biggest achievement of his sporting career before he moved to the US.
He was working as a taxicab driver, US media reports said. Singh was taken to an area hospital for the treatment of self-inflicted injuries, where he remains in police custody, NBC News reported.
At Singh's home on Rockwood Road, police found his mother, Nasib Kaur, lying unresponsive on the first floor with her throat slit. Singh's wife, Jaspal Kaur, was found upstairs, similarly wounded. Both women were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.
The motive in the slayings was unclear.
At this point, there's been no previous criminal contact with this individual and so the mystery of why this happened is still a mystery, CBS Local quoted Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer as saying.
A chilling phone call between Singh and his son brought the responding officers to his home. I killed both of them. I killed your mother and grandmother. Call the police to come get me, he told his son over phone.
He then talked to his daughter, who was with her brother and told her the same story. That's when law enforcement was contacted, they arrived and they found Mr Singh covered in blood, injured. But they also found the two deceased individuals in the home, Stollsteimer said.
Neighbours say the now-accused killer was well-known. He was often seen walking and meditating in the quiet Newtown Square neighbourhood.
But they say something seemed off a day before the killings.
He didn't seem to be his usual self. When he was doing his prayers, I just kind of sensed that he was maybe a little bit off or agitated about something, neighbour Sue Davison said.
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Hemant Karkare killed by RSS-linked cop, not Kasab: Maharashtra LoP Vijay Wadettiwar
BJP writes to ECI for action against Cong leader Wadettiwar for 'defaming' Ujjwal Nikam
Mumbai, May 5: The BJP has written to the Election Commission of India seeking action against Congress and the opposition leader, Vijay Wadettiwar, for allegedly peddling lies and defaming its Mumbai North Central nominee and ex-26/11 prosecution lawyer Ujjwal Nikam.
Wadettiwar, the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra legislative assembly, purportedly called Nikam an "anti-national" and accused him of hiding the information that then Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare wasn't killed by Kasab's bullet during the 26/11 terror attack, but fell to a bullet of a policeman affiliated to RSS.
His allegations were based on the book "Who Killed Karkare" written by retired police officer SM Mushriff.
"As a responsible leader, the opposition leader should desist from making such comments that can help the enemy nation," Nikam said.
Terming Wadettiwar's statements as "false and not based on facts", Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shekar claimed they were aimed at defaming Ujjwal Nikam and inciting emotions.
"We have written to the Election Commission of India seeking action against Wadettiwar who is a star campaigner (of Congress) and also against the Congress party for peddling lies," he added.
Shelar further said (Ajmal) Kasab was sentenced to death for killing innocent people after following a due process of law.
Kasab was the lone terrorist who was captured alive by Mumbai Police during the 26/11 terror attack by Pakistani terrorists in which at least 166 people were killed and several others were injured.
Shelar wondered whether Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray supported the statement made by the Congress leader.
A former special public prosecutor, Nikam had represented the state in high-profile cases like the Mumbai serial bomb blasts and the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
He is making his political foray from Mumbai North Central seat on a BJP ticket and is pitted against city Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad.
