13 Indian traders file kidnap charges

MANILA, Philippines - Thirteen Indian businessmen surfaced at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday to file criminal charges against a kidnap syndicate targeting Indian moneylenders.

The victims all pointed to Zahr Ahmed Chaudhry as the mastermind behind kidnappings that date back as far as 2006.

Chaudhry and three of his alleged accomplices were arrested last week for kidnapping Jujhar Singh in exchange for P15 million.

Max Salvador, head of the NBI-National Capital Region, said they will file 13 new cases of kidnapping against Chaudhry.

They are also looking at the involvement of police officers in the kidnappings, he said.

James Kumar, president of the Khalsa Diwan Sikh Church, thanked the NBI and said they were at the bureau to end the kidnappings. The church has been helping the kidnap victims.

Chaudhry’s first two victims were taken in 2006. The first returned to India while the second, who was kidnapped less than a week after getting married, surfaced at the NBI yesterday.

The victim said Chaudhry’s gang beat him, electrocuted his genitals, and forced him to drink gasoline. He said his kidnappers demanded P1 million as ransom.

Chaudhry’s gang is reportedly known for the inhumane treatment of its victims. The NBI said some victims alleged that the kidnappers did not feed them for a week and gave them dirty water to drink.

Some families said some of the gang’s victims were killed because they failed to raise the ransom money, the NBI said.

Kumar said the kidnappings were never reported over fears that Chaudhry, who bragged about his connection with police and the military, would get back at them.