Indian rescued after 6-day captivity

Quezon City policemen rescued Saturday night an Indian national held hostage for six days by his kidnappers.

Senior Superintendent Magtanggol Gatdula, director of the Quezon City Police District, said apart from arresting three suspects, they also detained a live-in partner of one of the suspects for allegedly attempting to bribe a police official to drop the case.

Gatdula identified the three suspects as Roderick Manansala, 30, of Lower Bicutan in Taguig City; Ryan Celetial, 21, of Las Piñas City; and Joseph Urban, 27 of Camarines Sur.

The suspects were accosted in a red Chevrolet Spark  (ZGW-239) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the corner of Chestnut and Sedar Streets in West Fairview. The suspects were reportedly acting suspiciously, prompting policemen to check on the vehicle.

The three were with the victim when they were apprehended by operatives of the QCPD-Mobile Patrol Unit, Gatdula told The STAR.

“During tactical interrogation, the Indian national stated that he was kidnapped,” the QCPD chief said.

The Indian national, who requested anonymity, said that before they were arrested, the suspects were about to free him after his friends paid ransom worth P200,000 earlier in the day.

“They were telling me they would be dropping me off near my house (also in Quezon City),” the 36-year-old victim, who has a buy-and-sell business, told The STAR in an interview.

According to the Indian national, “six to seven men with firearms” forced him into a white Toyota Corolla while he was riding his motorcycle in Balintawak.

The Indian national could not say where he was brought, noting that he was blindfolded and hogtied during his ordeal. He, however, said the suspects did not hurt him.

Later that day, the suspects called up the victim’s friends based in Navotas City, demanding a P1-million ransom.

The victim said a series of negotiations followed, with his friends haggling the ransom down to P200,000. His friends then met up with some of the suspects on Saturday in Cainta, Rizal to give the ransom.

The Indian national believes the amount was already with the other suspects, as it was not recovered when their three cohorts were arrested.

Gatdula said his men conducted follow-up operations on a suspected safehouse of the kidnap group in Barangay Pasong Putik, also in Quezon City, but the other suspects were not there.

Gatdula said the Chevrolet Spark used by the suspects was traced to another Indian national, Jagdev Singh of Caloocan City.

The police have yet to locate Singh and the victim says he does not know the person. But the victim said he believes the owner of the vehicle connived with the suspects and was the one who tipped off his kidnappers.

Meanwhile, upon the suspects’ arrest, Manansala’s live-in partner went to the QCPD-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit carrying P100,000 and allegedly offered it to Inspector Roberto Razon in exchange for not filing kidnapping charges against the arrested men.

Razon turned down the offer and the woman, identified as Mardie Lapana, was also detained.

According to Gatdula, the money will be presented as evidence against a criminal case to be filed against Lapana for attempting to corrupt a police officer.