MANILA, Philippines - A police official is in critical condition after he was shot four times while trying to rescue an Indian national who was being chased by armed men in Pasay City yesterday afternoon.
Chief Inspector Raymund Liguden, chief of Pasay’s investigation section, said Senior Inspector Renato Apolinario sustained gunshot wounds in the face, thigh, and stomach and remains confined at the San Juan de Dios Medical Center.
Apolinario had just come from a Christmas party at the Pasay City police headquarters when he saw armed men – possibly kidnappers – chasing Manjinder “James” Kumar, United Indian Association of the Philippines Inc. president, along F.B. Harrison and Wilson streets.
When he approached the men chasing Kumar, they opened fire. Kumar was hit in the right arm but Apolinario received most of the bullets as Kumar hid behind him, said Liguden.
Police immediately set up a dragnet to catch the suspects, but as of 6 p.m. last night, Kumar’s attackers have yet to be arrested.
Kumar, according to Liguden, is under “constant threat” and “has been previously ambushed.” Liguden added that Kumar’s brother was also killed by armed men.
When asked for the motive for the attack on Kumar, Liguden declined to comment.
According to previous news reports, Kumar has filed a murder case against Surjit Singh for the killing of his younger brother, Sandip Kumar.
Singh is allegedly a member of the “Indian mafia,” a group reportedly involved in human trafficking and extorting money from Indian nationals. - By Aie Balagtas See
