Blast suspects yield plates for making fake peso bills

Two Indian nationals linked to last Monday’s bomb explosion outside a grocery store in Anti—polo City were found to be in possession of several plates used in the manufacture of counterfeit Philippine currency.

Superintendent Normandy Carpio, provincial officer of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said suspects Penkej Komar, 27, and Pankai Jain, 20, have yielded a number of plates for the manufacture of fake P100, P500 and P1,000 bills during successive raids at the Gem’s Hotel and Resort where they had checked in.

Police are now investigating whether Komar and Jain were behind the proliferation of fake peso bills in eastern Metro Manila and nearby towns and cities.

Probers are determining any links between the bomb blast outside the Rempson Supermarket along Lopez Jaena street in Barangay San Jose, Antipolo City, and the two Indians’ counterfeit operations.

Komar and Jain, both residing in Better Living, Parañaque City, both denied any involvement in the blast which injured two firemen and destroyed at least P1 million in property.

Police filed forgery charges against Komar and Jain with the city prosecutor’s office yesterday, apparently to be able to continue detaining them while the investigation into the blast is ongoing.

The two Indian nationals are now detained at the Rizal provincial police headquarters in Hilltop, Taytay, Rizal.

A police prober said they are still questioning Komar and Jain for their possible participation not only in last Monday’s blast but also in other terrorist activities.

He said police also have in their custody a Filipino, who will be used as a prosecution witness against the two Indian nationals.

Last Monday, two occupants of an L-300 van unloaded six plastic containers containing ammonium nitrate at the right side of the grocery store.

A witness described one of them as Arab-looking and wearing the traditional Muslim headgear, and the other, a Filipino with a Mindanaoan accent.

One of the improvised bombs exploded. Bomb experts managed to defuse the rest.

Earlier, Carpio said Komar and Jain checked in at the hotel, some 600 meters away from the grocery store, a day before the bombing incident.

Carpio said the Indian nationals, along with a Pakistani and a Filipino, were seen talking with a group of Muslims at the hotel premises on the night before the bombs were discovered outside the grocery store.