3 nabbed in kidnap try on Indian

MANILA, Philippines - Three alleged members of a gang of kidnappers preying on Indians in Metro Manila were arrested Wednesday when they tried to kidnap an official of the Sikh temple in Manila.

Charges of attempted kidnapping were filed against Gym instructor Joginder Singh, 42; Amarjit Singh, of Meycauayan, Bulacan; and Gemma Subido, 41, of Silang, Cavite, with the Manila prosecutor’s office.

Suspects Sukhwinder Singh, Kewan Singh, Frebjot Singh and Gurvinder Pal Singh – all of them still at large – and two unidentified policemen were also charged.

It was unclear if all the Indian suspects were members of the Sikh temple along United Nations Avenue. Among the Sikhs, all males use the surname Singh while women use Kaur.

Chief Inspector Arsenio Riparip, Manila Police District (MPD) general assignment and investigation chief, said two security guards stopped the suspects from kidnapping temple vice president Gurdev Singh, 65, at the temple’s parking lot at around 2 p.m.

Gurdev, who attended a service at the temple, was on his way to his car when the suspects dragged him to a red Mitsubishi sedan, Riparip said.

The guards saw the incident and tried to save Gurdev, he said, adding that a patrol team of the MPD Station 5 passed through the area and arrested the suspects.

Gurdev told police the gang was asking for P5 million, but later lowered their demand to P3 million. “They said if I give them P3 million we will be friends, but if not they will kill me,” he said.

Gurdev said the gang tried to kill him in Quezon City last July when he refused to pay up. He said the group has at least 20 members and kidnapped a lot of Indians who were too afraid to report the crime.

He also alleged that Subido is married to a Sikh, who is in jail for robbery.

Riparip said the suspects threatened the security guards that if they talk, they would be killed.

The suspects denied that they tried to kidnap Gurdev, saying they all went to the temple to attend the service.