Indian Sikh couple shot in Philippines

A Sikh couple from India was gunned down by two bike-borne assailants in the Philippines’ Camarines Sur province on Thursday, a media report said. Bahagwant Singh Buttar, 45 and his wife Jaswinder Kaur, 36, residents of Sipocot town in the province, were killed by the two gunmen, Tempo newspaper reported.

The couple was on their way to somewhere when the gunmen struck, killing them on the spot, police said. Two suspects, Marvin Magdaong and Rodolfo T Gumatay, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the incident. The motive behind the murder was not immediately known, police said. Two pistols and live ammunition have been recovered from their possession, police said, adding that a case has been registered.

There have been many attacks on Indians in the Philippines in the past.

The last incident reported in August, when a 26-year-old Indian man, who belonged to Punjab’s Phagwara and lived in Santiago city, was shot dead just a couple of months before he was scheduled to get married.