Singer Ishmeet Singh drowns in Maldives pool

By Shilpa Jamkhandikar

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Ishmeet Singh, the winner of a reality TV singing contest in India, drowned in the swimming pool of a hotel in Maldives on Tuesday.

Singh, 20, the star of last year’s ‘Voice of India’ show, had been in the island nation for a performance, his peers said.

Playback singer Shaan, the popular host of the show, said Singh had been seen at the deep end of the pool egging on his friends to join him.

"He kept teasing the other singers who were accompanying him. That is why when he started screaming for help, they all thought he was kidding," Shaan told Reuters.

"By the time they could get to him, it was too late."

Singh's body is being flown in to India on Wednesday evening and will be taken to his hometown of Ludhiana in Punjab.