Foul play in Ishmeet's death: Ishmeet's father

New Delhi, Sep 7: Equipped with a series of facts which they believe point to foul play in the death of 'Voice of India' winner Ishmeet Singh, the relatives of the singer on Sunday, Sep 7 met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and demanded a CBI inquiry into the real cause of his death. Ishmeet's father Gurbindar Singh and his uncle Charankamal Singh, a renowned cardiologist, met the Prime Minister at his 7, Race Course residence this morning and called for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the death of the singer, which they suspect to be a case of foul play.

Mr Gurbinder Singh and Dr Charankamal Singh, who returned yesterday from a visit to the Maldives to probe the causes of Ishmeet's death, found that several questions pertaining to the actual course of events that occurred on the evening of July 29, the fateful day when Ishmeet is said to have drowned in a pool in the tourist resort in the Maldives, remained unanswered.

''We apprised the Prime Minister of the various facts about the July 29 incident that we had gathered in the course of our visit to the Maladives and which pointed out to some foul play in Ishmeet's death. The Prime Minister gave us a patient hearing and assured us that if required, a CBI inquiry would be ordered in the case,'' Dr Singh told UNI after their meeting with the Prime Minister.

Though media reports say Ishmeet died due to drowning, Ishmeet's uncle and father believe that his death was due to injury from some blunt object.

''When Ishmeet's body arrived in India, we saw that there was a blood clot on the right side of his temple and another clot on the forehead, both of which appeared to have been caused by a blow from a blunt object. What we want to know is that if he died of drowning, where did these injuries come from.

Further, the reports of Ishmeet's death emanating from the Maladives showed drowning to be the secondary cause of death.

So, what was the primary cause, we wondered. All this makes us feel that there could be some foul play into his death,'' Dr Singh said.

''What is surprising is that between 1650 hrs and 1720 hrs on July 29, none of the 250 employees of the resort where Ishmeet was staying saw him and his friends going to the pool.

Infact, of the seven people accompanying him on the tour, only two, Vyom and Arunima, have been quoted as saying that Ishmeet died of drowning.

The hotel employees came into the picture only when Ishmeet's friends started shouting for help. And, when the first person came on the scene, Ishmeet was already dead. This is surprising that a person does not die of drowning in such a short time (between shouting and the help arriving on scene),'' Dr Singh said.

He said though Vyom and Arunima had said they were with Ishmeet when he drowned. However, how was it that none of the 250 employees of the resort did no see them going to the pool.

''Also, none of the reports or first hand accounts of Ishmeet's death explain how he got the injuries. So, our demand is that the probing agency should investigate what happened between 1650 hrs and 1720 hrs,'' Dr Singh said.

Dr Singh said a request for CBI inquiry into the death of the singer had been made to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as far back as August 3 which the latter had immediately forwarded to the Centre.

''Tired by the delay, we decided on September 3 to visit the Maldives to see for ourselves the site where Ishmeet was reported to be drowned so as to get some clues into the real cause of his death,''Dr Singh said.

UNI