Durban - Criminals posing as job seekers fatally shot a man and fled in his bakkie outside his Sea Cow Lake home on Sunday.
One suspect is believed to have returned to the crime scene on Monday, where he was seen loitering outside the house in Centre Road while family members were making funeral arrangements for the victim, Ranjith Sewnath, 62.
The suspect was later picked up by a private security company and taken to the Newlands East police station for questioning.
The police are still investigating if he was involved in the killing. A second suspect is still on the run.
Sewnath, the owner of a brick paving company, had been moving cars around his yard to make space for the vehicle of a visitor they were expecting when the tragedy unfolded.
Two men, one carrying a rake, walked down the driveway and asked Sewnath and his wife, Shirley, 55, if they had gardening jobs.
“Sewnath offered to take down their details and call them when he needed their help. Shirley went into the house to fetch a pen and paper. When she came out, the men drew guns and pointed them at the couple” said family spokesman, Thirusha Reddy.
The couple pleaded with the robbers to spare their lives and take what they wanted. Shirley placed her palms together in a prayer stance while she begged the two men not to harm them.
One man placed a gun at Shirley’s back and nudged her towards the door of the house.
“The men only spoke once, when they asked for jobs. Shirley did not know what they wanted, even when they took out guns. While she was being led inside the house, she managed to close the door behind her, locking the robber out,” Reddy said.
Meanwhile, a scuffle broke out in the driveway between the second robber and Sewnath, who was then shot in the chest and head at close range.
Fatally injured, he fell outside the dining room window.
The robbers managed to get into his Isuzu bakkie and drive off. It was later found abandoned on the side of the road in Kwa-Mashu.
“Shirley had called for help and when she peered through the window, she saw Ranjith lying on the ground. She shouted out to him, but he did not respond.
“When police and a security company arrived, she was devastated to see him lying in a pool of blood,” Reddy said.
Reddy described Sewnath as a self-made businessman, hardworking and humble.
He leaves behind his wife, two children and a 10-month-old granddaughter.
“This was an unexpected, senseless and violent murder. We still feel they will return, because they have the house keys. The fact that he offered to take their telephone numbers showed his eagerness to help others,” Reddy said.
Newlands East SAPS are investigating a case of murder and carjacking.
Daily News