Indian money lender dies in Maguindanao del Sur ambush

KIDAPAWAN CITY — Gunmen shot dead an Indian moneylender in an attack on Sunday afternoon along a busy stretch of a highway in Buluan town in Maguindanao del Sur, not too distant from the capitol of the province.

The Buluan Municipal Police Station, in an initial report on Monday to Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said that Laxman Singh, who was based in Cotabato City, died on the spot from bullet wounds in the head.

Singh, an Indian national, was riding his motorcycle when he was attacked, an incident preceded by the ambush in Buluan, along the same route just two weeks ago, that left two Christian students involved in preaching activities in villages in nearby towns, badly wounded.

The two victims, who sustained bullet wounds in different parts of their bodies, are residents of Mlang town in Cotabato province, about 30 minutes away through overland travel from Buluan.

The moneylender Singh operated in Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and in the cities of Tacurong and Cotabato.

His killers managed to escape before responding policemen and barangay tanods could reach the scene. 

Talks are spreading around Buluan and nearby towns hinting that the culprits divested Singh of his money before they fled.