Wanted former Indian officer kills family and then himself
Source: Agencies |
June 11, 2012, Monday
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A former Indian army officer wanted in the 1996 killing of a human rights lawyer, shot and killed his own wife and two of their children in their California home before apparently committing suicide, authorities said.
A 17-year-old believed to be the man's son also was shot in the Saturday morning attack and was "barely alive," Fresno County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Curtice said.
The ex-officer, Avtar Singh, had been arrested last year after his wife said he choked her, and the Indian government sought his extradition days after that in the 1996 death of Jalil Andrabi.
But he remained free, for reasons that were not immediately clear. Andrabi's brother and lawyer blamed New Delhi, saying Singh's family would still be alive if the government had tried harder to bring him to justice.
"These lives could have been saved if a trial of Major Avtar Singh was conducted in time," said Andrabi's brother, Arshad. "We have lost that chance now. He was a known murderer and we are appalled that he was even shielded in the United States. It's a failure of justice at all levels."
Singh, who owned a trucking company in Selma, called police around 6:15am on Saturday and told them he had just killed four people, Curtice said. A sheriff's SWAT team was called in to assist because of Singh's military background and the India charges against him.
When the team entered the home they found the bodies of Singh, a woman believed to be his wife and two children, ages three and 15, Curtice said. All appeared to have died from gunshot wounds.
The 17-year-old suffered severe head trauma and is in intensive care after surgery.
Singh, 47, was arrested by Selma police in February 2011 when his wife reported that he had choked her, Selma Police Chief Myron Dyck said shortly after that arrest. Police then discovered he was being sought in India, but Dyck said at the time he could not keep Singh in custody on the murder charge without a warrant from international authorities.
Several days later, India requested that the United States arrest and extradite Singh. It wasn't clear why Singh had remained free since then.
Jalil Andrabi was killed at the height of protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where nearly a dozen rebel groups have fought security forces for independence or merger with Pakistan since 1989. More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the uprising and subsequent Indian crackdown.
Andrabi disappeared in March 1996 and his body was recovered 19 days later in a river. He had been shot in the head and his eyes gouged out.
A 17-year-old believed to be the man's son also was shot in the Saturday morning attack and was "barely alive," Fresno County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Curtice said.
The ex-officer, Avtar Singh, had been arrested last year after his wife said he choked her, and the Indian government sought his extradition days after that in the 1996 death of Jalil Andrabi.
But he remained free, for reasons that were not immediately clear. Andrabi's brother and lawyer blamed New Delhi, saying Singh's family would still be alive if the government had tried harder to bring him to justice.
"These lives could have been saved if a trial of Major Avtar Singh was conducted in time," said Andrabi's brother, Arshad. "We have lost that chance now. He was a known murderer and we are appalled that he was even shielded in the United States. It's a failure of justice at all levels."
Singh, who owned a trucking company in Selma, called police around 6:15am on Saturday and told them he had just killed four people, Curtice said. A sheriff's SWAT team was called in to assist because of Singh's military background and the India charges against him.
When the team entered the home they found the bodies of Singh, a woman believed to be his wife and two children, ages three and 15, Curtice said. All appeared to have died from gunshot wounds.
The 17-year-old suffered severe head trauma and is in intensive care after surgery.
Singh, 47, was arrested by Selma police in February 2011 when his wife reported that he had choked her, Selma Police Chief Myron Dyck said shortly after that arrest. Police then discovered he was being sought in India, but Dyck said at the time he could not keep Singh in custody on the murder charge without a warrant from international authorities.
Several days later, India requested that the United States arrest and extradite Singh. It wasn't clear why Singh had remained free since then.
Jalil Andrabi was killed at the height of protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where nearly a dozen rebel groups have fought security forces for independence or merger with Pakistan since 1989. More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the uprising and subsequent Indian crackdown.
Andrabi disappeared in March 1996 and his body was recovered 19 days later in a river. He had been shot in the head and his eyes gouged out.
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