Vendetta eyed in attacks on 3 Indians

MANILA, Philippines - Police are now eyeing vendetta as a possible motive in a series of ambushes involving Indian nationals since 2007, the latest of which was that of a woman mo­neylender who was shot dead while collecting debt payments in Sampaloc, Manila Friday morning.

The new angle surfaced after police investigators found out that the latest victim, Kirandeep Kaur, was the sister of Gurbreet Singh, whom the former was suspecting of having a hand in the ambush of her Indian husband in 2007, also in Sampaloc. Armed men also ambushed Gurbreet and his wife, Kanwaldeep Kaur, again in Sampaloc, on April 21. Gurbreet died while Kanwaldeep survived the attack.

Chief Inspector Alberto Peco, who heads the homicide section of the Manila Police District, said the three ambushes were perpetrated by suspected hired killers. The suspects took no cash or valuables from the victims in the three ambushes.

“It seems the Sampaloc ambushes were directed on two feuding Indian families. We will try to dig deeper into these cases despite the absence of complainants from the two families,” Peco said.

Police are verifying reports that the ambushes are an offshoot of a business rivalry between the two families. However, Peco lamented that the Indian community is not helping in the investigation.

Peco said he is coordinating with the MPD’s intelligence unit, who has dossiers of suspected guns-for-hire, to identify the gunmen. “We will show pictures of suspected gun-for-hires to the witnesses who may be able to identify those involved,” he said.     

Before the new angle surfaced, investigators eyed religious conflict as a possible motive for the ambushes. – Nestor Etolle