Service for Josh Singh to be held on Saturday

Pulkit Singh, an Engineering and Wharton junior, died Sunday. He was 20 years old.

Singh’s cause of death is being investigated, Philadelphia Health Department spokesperson Jeff Moran confirmed in an email on Monday.

Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said that Penn Police became aware of Singh’s death after 1 p.m. on Sunday. Rush added that Singh was found in his bedroom in his off-campus house.

Singh, known to friends as Josh, was a dual-degree student majoring in computer science. He was from Long Island, New York and attended Bethpage High School.

Josh Singh has been living with his aunt and uncle, Joginder Singh, since his parents died in 2007. He and his younger brother, Ankur Singh, found their parents shot and killed inside their home in Long Island after they came home from school. The case was never solved.

“He was the star of our family, and he had a brain that could think at least 10 or 12 years ahead of his time,” Joginder said.

“He was always so, so confident,” Joginder added. “Everybody in our community looked up to him.”

Penn Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding Singh’s death. No foul play — defined by the Cambridge Dictionaries Online as a criminal, usually violent, act — is suspected, Rush said.

The investigation into Singh’s cause of death is still pending due to additional testing that is being performed, Moran added. The testing could take over one or two months, he said.

Members of Penn’s support services — which includes Director of Special Services Patricia Brennan, Director of Student Intervention Services Sharon Smith, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Bill Alexander, and Rush — were on campus Sunday to notify family, friends and classmates, Rush said.

The same group will continue to work with the roommates and classmates of the student. “The SIS team will be working with the Penn community in the upcoming weeks to help them deal with this tragedy,” Rush added.

This marks the second student death over winter break. Kevin Zhao, an Engineering and Wharton senior, died while traveling with his family in China.

Singh’s viewing will be held between 10 and 11:30 a.m. at Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in Bethpage on Saturday, Jan. 18. It will be followed by cremation at Nassau Suffolk Crematory in Lake Ronkonkoma and then a congregation in New Hyde Park, Long Island. All friends are welcome to attend, Joginder said.

Enterprise Editor Will Marble and City News Editor Harry Cooperman contributed reporting.

A previous version of this article stated that Singh’s funeral was scheduled for Jan. 19.

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