Man snatched from California Sikh temple in fatal case of mistaken identity, officials say

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A man was found dead near Lake Berryessa in Napa County on Friday, three days after he was kidnapped from a Sikh temple about 100 miles away in the Central Valley, investigators said.Avtar Singh, 57, was reported missing from the Gurdwara Gur Nanak Parkash in Tracy on Feb.17, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.

Surveillance footage showed three people dressed in dark clothing forcing him into a white SUV and speeding off, investigators said.A fisherman found Singh’s body Friday afternoon near the lake and called police, authorities said.Sheriff’s officials declined to disclose the cause of his death but said they were investigating it as a homicide.

The white SUV was found nearby, officials said.Singh worked and lived at the temple with his wife and their 6-month-old triplets, said temple spokesperson Deep Singh, who is not related to the victim.Avtar’s wife became alarmed when she returned home from work on Feb.

17 and found the babies alone, Deep said.She asked other temple members for help, but no one could find her husband, he said.Deep then called the person who manages the cameras at the temple and reviewed surveillance footage from that afternoon, he said.

It showed the white SUV parking in the parking lot and a man exiting, he said.The man first knocked on the door to the temple’s laundry, and when no one opened, he knocked on Avtar’s door, Deep said.Avtar apparently had difficulty understanding the man and, by phone, called another man who lives at the temple to help translate, Deep said.

The man on the phone happened to share a first name with the man the kidnapper was looking for, creating confusion, he said.Business The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison Tuesday, claiming the electric company was to blame for igniting last year’s Eaton fire, which destroyed the congregation’s hist...