MITCH M. LIPA
Police investigation is underway on the death of four Bacolodnons, whose bodies were found with gunshot wounds, early Saturday morning in separate areas of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.
The body of Arnold “Aki” Cuadra was found by the Bacolod police along a riverbank in Barangay Villamonte, while cousins Leonel and Junel Rafols were found dead at a sugarcane field in Barangay Blumentritt in Murcia.
The body of the fourth victim, only known as “Kugan”, was found in Purok Malipayon, Brgy. Atipuluan, Bago City.
Initial investigations said that Cuadra, who was identified by his family, temporarily resided in Bacolod City and was allegedly the leader of a robbery group, whose members include the Rafols cousins and “Kugan”.
Police records also show that the Rafols cousins were from Barangay 1 in Bacolod City and were reportedly abducted Friday night, Jan. 7, from their temporary residence in Barangay Vista Alegre.
“Kugan”, meanwhile, was from Barangay 35, also in Bacolod. Witnesses in Purok Malipayon in Atipuluan said they heard several gunshots early morning Saturday, from about 200 meters away from their houses, and saw a vehicle leaving the area. When they went out to check, they found a man lying face down along the roadway.
The victim, who was later identified as “Kugan”, sustained several gunshot wounds in different parts of his body and was brought to the Bago City Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. — MML
