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Updated: Aug 29, 2019 01:07 IST

An ex-sarpanch of an Amritsar village was stabbed to death by an unidentified person in the US state of California when he was on an evening walk on Sunday, according to a media report.

Parmjit Singh, 64, who remained sarpanch of Naraingarh village near Baba Bakala in Amritsar from 1998 to 2008, was attacked in Gretchen Talley Park in Tracy around 9pm with a knife. He died on the spot.

Parmjit had immigrated to Tracy three years ago and used to live with his daughter.

Detectives say a passerby spotted him bleeding on the ground and called emergency services, but he couldn’t be saved. Police launched a homicide investigation.

On Monday, police asked for the community’s help in identifying a man captured on video hopping a fence and running away from the park around the time when the incident took place.

“We can’t say what it was right now. We’re keeping all possibilities open. We have no information that would lead us to the motive of this crime. It is something that we can’t disprove of at this time and we’re actively investigating all possibilities,” Tracy police spokesperson Lt Trevin Freitas said.

On the day of the incident, Parmjit had gone to meet a Punjabi neighbour who had recently moved in, said the victim’s son-in-law, Harnek Singh Kang.

“He spent an hour at their house and declined their offer for dinner, saying he would make only one round of the park as his family had also been waiting for him,” said Kang.

Parmjit’s son Shinder Singh said he had the last video call with his father on Friday in which he said he will return to India in December.