2 Indian nationals slain by Cavite cops

A policeman holds an ID card of slain Indian national Pardeep Kumar. —PHOTO COURTESY OF IMUS CITY PNP

Two Indian nationals, who were suspected to be part of a kidnap-for-ransom group targeting their countrymen in the Philippines, were killed in a shootout with policemen in Imus City in Cavite province on Thursday.

The latest incident involving the foreigners could be related to a kidnapping case that led to the death of three people just a month ago, according to police officials in separate interviews.

A police report from Imus City identified the slain suspects as Pardeep Kumar, 33, and a man identified only as Hunny. Police recovered a Philippine TIN (taxpayer identification number) card from Kumar showing he was a resident of Dasmariñas City, Cavite.

Supt. Norman Ranon, Imus police chief, said the shootout happened at 3 a.m. on Thursday along Palanas Road in Barangay Anabu 1G.

The suspects were on a motorcycle when they shot it out with members of the police’s Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG).

“The police had been looking for and tailing them over the last two days,” Ranon said.

Police recovered two guns from the slain suspects and several bundles of P1,000 and P500 bills. The police report did not say the exact amount of cash, but believed it was part of the “ransom money.”

Ranon said Kumar and Hunny were suspects in a recent case of kidnap-for-ransom, based on information from the Camp Crame-based AKG. He, however, declined to identify the kidnap victims and provide details about the case.

Ranon and an official from the AKG, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak to reporters, said the Imus shootout was related to last month’s incident in Biñan City in Laguna province.

In August, Indian nationals Inderjit Singh and Rashpal Singh and Filipino Wilbert Ong were killed in a shootout with policemen.

The police tagged them as suspects in the abduction of Indian trader Sanile Kumar Sohal. The suspects, police said, demanded P20 million in exchange for Sohal’s freedom.

Police rescued Sohal in Pasay City but reports did not say how the rescue was carried out.

“Sila-sila rin yan (These are Indian nationals targeting their countrymen). It’s like a syndicate and most of the time, the victims pay (ransom),” the AKG official said.

He said most of the Indian nationals were involved in money-lending business. —MARICAR CINCO