19-year-old Ishmeet Singh, winner of the Voice of India contest drowned in a swimming pool at a hotel in the Maldives on Tuesday evening. Ishmeet was immeditely rushed to the local hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. The body of the singer is now being examined further by the doctors. Police authorities in Maldives have not yet released an official statement. (Click to enlarge images)
Ishmeet had gone to the Maldives for a concert to be held on August 1st 2008. Reports said that Ishmeet, had been frolicking in a shallow pool meant for children on Tuesday and later jumped into the deep-end of the main swimming pool and had immediately run into difficulty, an official of the Dhonveli resort in Maldives said.
"We understand that he did not know how to swim and had been advised by his friends not to get to the deep end," a hotel official said. His body was taken to the capital island Male, about half-an-hour by speed boat.
Ishmeet was one of the most talented guys in the Voice of India contest on Star Plus and defeated Harshit Saxena from Lucknow in the finals. After his win, he was in the process of recording his own album and had only recently recorded a song under the guidance of music director Lalit Pandit (of Jatin-Lalit fame).
Ishmeet was a talented singer from Ludhiana, who had given up his studies and gone against his parents wishes to participate in the Voice of India contest. Ishmeet also took part in the recently concluded Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar contest on Star Plus.
As news of Ishmeet's death spread in India,there was a sense of shock.Leagendary Lata Mangeskar expressed "deep shocked." Abhijeet Bhattcharya ,who judged Ishmeet and was his prompt supporter through the season,said it was impposible to accept this news. "I don't know how to react,he was like my son. I can't believe that Ishmeet is no more."
Lalit Pandit, one of the judges in the Voice of India contest, says, "It is extremely sad as apart from being a very talented singer, he was also an extremely nice and caring boy. He was just in the process of recording with his album. Alka Yagnikji gave me the bad news just now, and it has shaken me completely. He was hardly only 19 years old."
Pandit adds, "I have met Ishmeet's family as well and they are very nice people. His sister used to come on the show regularly. Both of them used to come to my house regularly for guidance. I still remember how he sang my songs like 'Mujhe raat din' (Sangarsh) and 'Chand sifarish jo karta' (Fanaa). He was brilliant and all his notes were in place. He had a brilliant future and it's extremely sad. I pray to God to give strength to his family in their moment of grief."
Sr. creative director, Star, Anupama Mandloi, says, "We are all shocked at this news. We don't have complete information yet as we too are getting all the details in bits and pieces. All we know is that he has drowned accidentally in a swimming pool. He was there for a concert along with couple of others like Vyom of Chote Ustad and Arunima who was also a part of Voice of India. He died before the concert. We are in the process of getting rest of the details."
Mandloi further says, "I have just spoken to his father and obviously they are completely distraught over the completely unexpected and unfortunate incident."