Former India athlete Iqbal Singh arrested in United States for killing wife and mother

Former Indian athlete Iqbal Singh Boparai has been arrested in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania for killing his wife and mother.Iqbal Singh, who is now 63-year-old, had won a bronze medal in shot put at the 1983 Asian Athletics Championships in Kuwait."I just can't believe that Iqbal killed his mother and wife as he was such a friendly person. I have gone to his place and stayed at his house in Philadelphia. His wife is such a loving and caring lady and his mother must be in her 90s," a friend of the former sportsman told TOI from Jamshedpur.

"I don't know what went wrong with him but he was under severe mental stress for the last few months and was on medication. His children are well settled and only Iqbal can tell why he did this. He even injured himself and is now in hospital," he added."He worked with Tata Steel and then he joined Punjab Police as an inspector. He was posted in Jalandhar," Iqbal's friend said that he migrated to USA after making his name as an athlete in the 1980s.Iqbal Singh, who features in India's all-time top-20 list, hailed from Urmar Tanda in Hoshiarpur district. He was one of India's top shot putters in the 80s with his best being a throw of 18.77m which helped him win the gold at the Permit Meet held in New Delhi in September, 1988.