Durban - Clutching red roses, 6-year-old Westville twins Talin and Tarita Bodalia on Tuesday said goodbye to their dad, their very own superhero.
Paresh “Splash” Bodalia, 46, spent his life protecting others, and did so again on Saturday night - deliberately moving away from his Ford Ranger, in which his son and daughter sat, as a gang of suspected hijackers stopped outside his driveway.
When one of the gunmen got out of the white Kia, Bodalia tried to keep them at bay, asking repeatedly what they wanted.
But when he saw a gun, he quickly reached for his own and fired, wounding the man.
Two others, however, sprang from the car and fired back, shooting Bodalia in the head.
Four suspects were arrested on Monday night, including one who is under police guard in hospital, police said on Tuesday.
Watching the CCTV footage of the shooting, metro policeman Inspector Kishor Bodalia surmised what his younger brother, a bodybuilder who owned a security company, had been thinking, knowing his beloved twins might be in harm’s way.
“You would never get a father more caring,” he told POST. “He was a gentle giant.”
Paresh’s devastated wife, Monica, was in Saudi Arabia preparing to work as a nurse at a new hospital there.
Her flight back home to Durban, accompanied by a hospital manager who arranged her flight, was her most painful journey.
Speaking to POST on Tuesday, Monica said she knew her husband was capable of taking care of their children
“And that is what he did...he saved them. He put himself in the crossfire to protect them. He was my hero and our children’s hero, my husband was the perfect person.
“I say it because I mean it wholeheartedly.”
As she prepared to say her final goodbyes to her husband, Monica said she was still in “a dwaal” (dazed), and appreciated the kindness of family, people who she had not seen in years and even strangers, who have been offering support.
Monica Bodalia and twins Tarita and Talin, 6. Picture: Terry Haywood/POST
Long-time friend, bodybuilder Scott Ramdhani, described Bodalia’s death as “one of the deepest losses in my life thus far”.
Ramdhani said their friendship went back 25 years.
“He has been my training partner in the gym and business associate. He supported me for a lot of the bodybuilding championships I competed in, and going to the gym now won’t be the same... we have been training together consistently for the past 15 years.”
“We developed a bond. Our families had become one. It now seems as if a piece of me is missing.”
Kishor said that whenever his brother was needed for anything, he would respond immediately.
His other brother, Dilip, said Paresh was known for his charitable work, providing schools with money, textbooks and meals.
Daya Naidoo, principal of his alma mater, Southlands Secondary School, said he had taught Paresh physical education and history.
“Paresh was an outstanding athlete and a fitness fanatic, who performed well in discus throwing. He represented the school and the Chatsworth South Zone at district level,” he said.
“After he matriculated, I met him when he was the managing director of Powerhouse Security and he offered their security services to the school at a favourable rate and we accepted the offer.
“On many occasions, he also offered us additional security guards for events and constantly provided donations for the upliftment of education.
“I was saddened by his untimely death. What a loss of human life.”
Also feeling the loss badly is the family of the domestic worker, who Paresh had just picked up before they returned home with the twins.
The woman, who wanted to be identified only by her first name, Trish, said that when Paresh saw the car pull up after he drove into his driveway, he got out and asked three times what the men wanted.
As the shots rang out, Trish said she pushed the twins down, and remained inside the car for about 15 minutes.
“I was shaking, shivering,” she said, adding the twins were screaming, “Daddy, daddy”.
Paresh, she said, was “like a father to everyone”.
Kishore said that Paresh’s mother-in-law, who was in the house at the time, rushed outside when she heard the gunshots.
“She tried to stem the bleeding. He was still alive.”
The attackers fled without taking anything, but police investigators found blood from one of the gunmen at the scene along with a cap that was dropped. They are being analysed for DNA traces.
Meanwhile, Blue Security operations manager Brian Jackson said the company’s crime reports showed a trend of larger-sized gangs carrying out armed robberies.
“There are often at least three to five gang members who commit serious crimes such as armed robbery and hijacking, but these gangs are now getting even larger,” he said.
“Criminals know that there is power in numbers and that if they operate in larger gangs it will be much easier for them to counter any resistance victims might put up.”
POST