Gagandip Singh, 21, the president of the British Sikh Student Federation and one of the owners of Sikh TV, a fledgling broadcaster, was said to be a leading light in the Sikh community and a "politician in the making".
Neighbors have linked Mr Singh's death to the murder of his father, Charanjit Singh, who died in a contract killing in India two years ago, although police are understood to doubt this is the case.
Two teenagers, a man and a woman both aged 19, have been arrested. They are understood not to be related to Mr Singh nor each other.
The body of the Mr Singh, who was keen on karate and football, was found shortly after 2am on Saturday morning.
It was found in the boot of his sister's blue Mercedes C-class car which was burning when police found it on a quiet lane off a dual carriageway on the edge of Greenwich Park in south east London. Mr Singh had borrowed the car earlier after his white BMW got a flat tyre.
Mr Singh suffered severe head injuries but do not know what caused his death. Post mortem results on his remains proved inconclusive and detectives are awaiting the outcome of further tests. Police have yet to determine whether he was still alive when the car was set on fire.
Mr Singh's mother, Tajinder, 44, was briefly admitted to hospital due to her reaction at the news. She and Mr Singh's sister Amandeep, 19, were too upset to speak at their cream-coloured home in Bexleyheath yesterday. The young man is understood to have been in the process of arranging a marriage for his sister.
A family friend, who did not wish to be named, said: "This was brutal. Absolutely brutal, the way he was killed. To be put in a boot and it to be set on fire is terrifying and horrific.
"Since the killing of his father the family have had CCTV put around the house and they were worried about security.
"Gagandip was very influential and very prominent in the Sikh community. When his father died he had to pick everything up. Maybe he was killed because he was so successful, out of jealousy or spite, but he was really well respected in the community.
"The entire family is 110 per cent distraught. Now she has to deal with the death of her son as well. It is terrible."
He added: "Gagandip was a leader of the community and a politician in the making. He was an incredibly influential young man. The company employed more than 200 people and he would always say to me when he was recruiting about how happy that made him."
Another said: "He was very religious. He didn't smoke, he didn't drink. He was a very kind man, very generous and very devoted to his family."
Charanjit Singh was shot in the head outside a hotel in the Punjab region in 2009. Police in India believe that the wealthy businessman was the victim of a contract killing after he had travelled to the subcontinent for a wedding.
While there, he had asked for the return of £46,000 which he had loaned another man, named in India as Kamal Kumar, in a property deal struck in England. In fact Kumar had registered all the Indian property in his own name, it was said. Five people are currently due to stand trial for the murder.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "At around 2am on Saturday officers on patrol came across a vehicle on fire in Angerstein Lane, Blackheath.
"The fire brigade attended and extinguished the fire and subsequently the body of a man was found in the boot of the car.
"A 19 year old woman and a 19 year old man have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are currently in custody."
Det Ch Insp Damian Allain, who is leading the investigation, appealed for witnesses to come forward, adding: "We don't believe that this was a random killing, and are exploring the line of enquiry that this was a targeted attack against our victim."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...ing-woman.html
Attachments - Sikh Philosophy Network
More...
Neighbors have linked Mr Singh's death to the murder of his father, Charanjit Singh, who died in a contract killing in India two years ago, although police are understood to doubt this is the case.
Two teenagers, a man and a woman both aged 19, have been arrested. They are understood not to be related to Mr Singh nor each other.
The body of the Mr Singh, who was keen on karate and football, was found shortly after 2am on Saturday morning.
It was found in the boot of his sister's blue Mercedes C-class car which was burning when police found it on a quiet lane off a dual carriageway on the edge of Greenwich Park in south east London. Mr Singh had borrowed the car earlier after his white BMW got a flat tyre.
Mr Singh suffered severe head injuries but do not know what caused his death. Post mortem results on his remains proved inconclusive and detectives are awaiting the outcome of further tests. Police have yet to determine whether he was still alive when the car was set on fire.
Mr Singh's mother, Tajinder, 44, was briefly admitted to hospital due to her reaction at the news. She and Mr Singh's sister Amandeep, 19, were too upset to speak at their cream-coloured home in Bexleyheath yesterday. The young man is understood to have been in the process of arranging a marriage for his sister.
A family friend, who did not wish to be named, said: "This was brutal. Absolutely brutal, the way he was killed. To be put in a boot and it to be set on fire is terrifying and horrific.
"Since the killing of his father the family have had CCTV put around the house and they were worried about security.
"Gagandip was very influential and very prominent in the Sikh community. When his father died he had to pick everything up. Maybe he was killed because he was so successful, out of jealousy or spite, but he was really well respected in the community.
"The entire family is 110 per cent distraught. Now she has to deal with the death of her son as well. It is terrible."
He added: "Gagandip was a leader of the community and a politician in the making. He was an incredibly influential young man. The company employed more than 200 people and he would always say to me when he was recruiting about how happy that made him."
Another said: "He was very religious. He didn't smoke, he didn't drink. He was a very kind man, very generous and very devoted to his family."
Charanjit Singh was shot in the head outside a hotel in the Punjab region in 2009. Police in India believe that the wealthy businessman was the victim of a contract killing after he had travelled to the subcontinent for a wedding.
While there, he had asked for the return of £46,000 which he had loaned another man, named in India as Kamal Kumar, in a property deal struck in England. In fact Kumar had registered all the Indian property in his own name, it was said. Five people are currently due to stand trial for the murder.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "At around 2am on Saturday officers on patrol came across a vehicle on fire in Angerstein Lane, Blackheath.
"The fire brigade attended and extinguished the fire and subsequently the body of a man was found in the boot of the car.
"A 19 year old woman and a 19 year old man have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are currently in custody."
Det Ch Insp Damian Allain, who is leading the investigation, appealed for witnesses to come forward, adding: "We don't believe that this was a random killing, and are exploring the line of enquiry that this was a targeted attack against our victim."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...ing-woman.html
Attachments - Sikh Philosophy Network
More...