Jalandhar-origin financier shot dead in Philippines

A 60-year-old financier, native of Jalandhar, was shot dead in Manila, Philippines, on Monday morning when he was going to meet his friends, it is learnt. The victim has been identified as Bhagwant Rai Bansal, who was living in Manila for the past one decade.

A 60-year-old financier, native of Jalandhar, was shot dead in Manila, Philippines, on Monday morning when he was going to meet his friends, it is learnt. The victim has been identified as Bhagwant Rai Bansal, who was living in Manila for the past one decade. He was head of Khalsa Diwan Inc, an Indian organisation in the Philippines, in 2007.

Bhagwant Rai Bansal, a native of Jalandhar, was shot dead in Manila, Philippines, on Monday. (Representative Image)

A pall of gloom descended on the Green Park locality in Jalandhar upon receiving the news of Bansal’s murder. His son, Simran,18, said they were informed by Bansal’s friends at 10 am that his father was on the busy street when unknown assailants opened fire on him.

The family urged the Indian government to help them bring back the body. The family suspects that the murder could be the fallout of a moneylending dispute. There have been many attacks on Indians based in the Philippines in past as well, with the murder of a native of Rupnagar on February 3 being the latest.