Durban - Video footage in the possession of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) allegedly shows a KwaZulu- Natal police captain shooting a suspect in cold blood.
This emerged in the Pinetown magistrate’s court yesterday when Captain DJ Dladla appeared on charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice.
The Pinetown policeman has been accused of killing a robbery suspect who allegedly gunned down Dladla’s colleague, Detective Constable Ajith Krishanlal, during an armed robbery in October.
Ipid spokesman, Moses Dlamini, said Dladla had been released on warning and the matter adjourned to March 6 for further investigation.
Dlamini said the investigating officer had told the court they were in possession of video footage allegedly implicating Dladla in the shooting.
He said Dladla had been charged with defeating the ends of justice because he had allegedly withheld information about the shooting from Ipid investigators.
“He did not cover this up alone. Other officers are also being investigated. More arrests could be possible.”
Krishanlal was killed during an armed robbery at a KFC outlet in New Germany.
His colleague, Constable Jerome Ngoma, who survived, was shot four times.
At the time, Dladla’s colleagues lashed out at Ipid, accusing its investigators, who attended the crime scene, of harassing him (Dladla).
They claimed Dladla had been treated badly and no consideration was given to the fact that he had been traumatised by Krishanlal’s death.
They were also upset that Ipid had opened a murder docket after the police captain shot dead one of the suspects during the robbery.
Dlamini said after three months of investigations, they found that there had been no threat by the suspect as had been claimed by the policeman.
“The suspect had surrendered himself to police and was lying on the ground when he was shot dead in cold blood. There are multiple witness statements to confirm this.
“This is the same policeman who refused to co-operate with investigators at the scene. He did not want to be interviewed and also refused to divulge his contact details…“
Dlamini said while Ipid had evidence to back up its claims, no evidence had been produced to support the allegations against Ipid. “Suggestions that we harassed the police captain and contaminated the crime scene were all fabricated. It was a distraction from what really transpired that day.”
He said there was no doubt that the suspect had been shot dead in cold blood. - Daily News