Punjab-origin former shot put medallist kills wife, mother; held

WASHINGTON:IQBAL Singh, a former Asian Championship bronze medallist 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.

Iqbal originally hailed from Hoshiarpur district in Punjab and was employed with Punjab Police. When police arrived at Singh’s home in Newtown Township, they found him 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 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.

The motive in the slayings was unclear. “At this point, there’s been no previous criminal contact with this individual and so why this happened is a mystery,” CBS Local quoted Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer as saying.

HAILING FROM HOSHIARPUR, IQBAL SINGH WAS WORKING AS A CABBIE; THE MOTIVE OF THE CRIME IS UNCLEAR, SAY COPS