Manila police rescue kidnapped Indian, kill 3

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

MANILA, Aug 20 (Reuters) Philippine police commandos rescued a kidnapped Indian trader and killed three of his captors during a raid near the capital Manila, the national police chief said today.

Oscar Calderon said 41 year-old Gurmukh Singh was unharmed during the operation yesterday night at a mountain village in Antipolo City, 20 kms (12 miles) east of Manila.

''Our team killed three men guarding the kidnapped victim during the raid,'' Calderon told reporters.

''The kidnappers fired at least 13 shots at our assault team. Our boys found the terrified Indian hidden in one of the rooms at the kidnappers' hideout.'' Kidnapping for ransom has become so common over the past three decades that the Philippines has been dubbed the kidnapping capital of Asia, with small-scale ''freelance'' kidnappers aiming to make money operating alongside politically-motivated groups.

The Philippine National Police says foreign kidnap gangs from India, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia were also operating in the country, preying on their own nationals due to business rivalry and plain ransom.

Calderon said one of the kidnappers of the Indian trader had an identification card showing him as a sergeant in the Philippine army while two others were members of a criminal gang called ''Sibuyas'', the Filipino word for onion.

''We believed that there were some Indian nationals working with this group preying on local Indian traders engaged in money lending activities in the country,'' Calderon said, adding they were still looking for other gang members.

Singh was collecting money from borrowers in Quezon City in the central part of the capital when he was taken at gunpoint by several men on last morning.

Half an hour later, his brother got a telephone call from the kidnap gang demanding 2 million pesos (42,700 dollar) ransom.

Calderon said his anti-kidnapping team traced the phone calls from the kidnappers and got a tip the victim was taken to Antipolo City.

REUTERS SW VC1405

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