Former Indian shot put medalist arrested in US for killing wife, mother

PTI, Aug 26, 2020, 11:45 AM IST

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 to get me,” he told his son over the 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.

Neighbors say the now-accused killer was well-known. He was often seen walking and meditating in the quiet Newtown Square neighborhood.

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,” neighbor Sue Davison said.