Three Indians linked to murder try

CEBU, Philippines - Three Indians were taken into custody by the National Bureau of Investigation because of their alleged involvement in a hacking incident in Minglanilla town two years ago.

Harjinder Singh, Sarbjit Singh and Jaswant Rai were picked up by agents led by special investigator Arnel Pura yesterday morning in their rented apartment in Santa Elena Subdivision, Barangay Tisa, following positive identification by the victim.

Manuel Lampria of barangay Tungkop, Minglanilla, identified them as the ones who tried to kill him on the afternoon of November 6, 2007.

Lampria, who earlier filed a complaint before the NBI against three unknown Indian nationals, was brought by the NBI operatives to the apartment of the suspects for identification.

The NBI was tipped off of the presence of the three who were allegedly in hiding because of their involvement in a crime in Minglanilla prompting Pura’s team to verify.

Together with Lampria, Pura went to the apartment of the suspects where they were positively identified by the victim. Pura then placed them under arrest and brought to the NBI office for booking.

Lampria recalled that he was on his way home from his work at about 5:30 p.m. that day in Tungkop, Minglanilla, when a certain “Onek” shouted at the Indians.

The suspects, who were riding on motorcycles, approached them, but Onek immediately fled. Believing that he was with Onek, one of the three suspects pulled out a katana and hacked him while another also pulled out a shotgun.

Lampria said he tried to run to safety but was slashed by the katana in his right palm. According to Lampria, he was confined at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center for about a month.

While in the hospital he discovered that his wife was instructed by former Minglanilla police chief Romeo Santander to meet with lawyer Rico Tautho to get the P8,000 financial assistance from the Indian National Association in Cebu.

Lampria said his wife was made to sign an undertaking that they are no longer filing criminal charges against the Indians responsible for his injury. It was allegedly Santander who brokered the settlement without his knowledge.

Through the NBI assistance, Lampria expressed his interest to pursue the filing of the criminal case for frustrated murder against the three suspects. 

Pura said the three can also be charged with the Bureau of Immigration for undesirability. — Fred P. Languido/BRP (THE FREEMAN)