Brazen killers went to the house of the metro policeman brother of ANC councillor Visvin Reddy and brutally murdered him on Friday morning.
Less than 12 hours earlier, a member of the South African Police Force was killed while in the line of duty. Both murders have highlighted the increasing dangers faced by law enforcement officers.
Sergeant Selvan Reddy, 28, the brother of ANC local government elections candidate Visvin Reddy, was shot at 4am after six armed men forced their way into his Shallcross house. At this stage the motive for the murder appears to be revenge.
Visvin Reddy told the Daily News that the men had knocked on the door and asked for his brother.
"My mother answered the door and they kicked her. My father tried to tell them that Selvan was not at home and they kicked him and pushed him out of the way," said Reddy as he sat next to his brother's body. The rest of his family sat weeping behind a police barrier.
When Selvan emerged from his room he was shot four times.
"I can't believe this has really happened, it's like a dream," said Reddy. "One of the bullets hit him in the thigh, another in the hand and the rest hit his chest."
A distraught Reddy believes his brother was targeted because of the hard stance he took against criminals in his patrol area: "He was a hero cop. I said to him that he must not be a hero because he would get killed."
Nothing was taken from the home as the men fled. A crowd of mourners, including colleagues of Selvan's stood outside the house this morning.
Many Metro police officers openly shed tears and expressed outrage at the death of "one of our own".
"He cared too much about the work," said one colleague.
Bheki Cele, Minister of Community, Safety and Liaison said he was concerned that criminals would track down a Metro policeman and kill him in his own house.
"I'm still trying to get more information on what happened to the policeman in Inanda, but the Shallcross murder is also disturbing.
"I hope this is not a new trend where criminals are targeting policemen in their own homes, but it seems like this is what has happened," said Cele.
He said he initially suspected that Selvan Reddy was targeted because his brother was a high- profile politician but now believes this had nothing to do with the murder.
Police spokesperson Inspector Rani John said a policeman, Detective Inspector Selvan Jagadesan, and a man suspected of armed robbery were killed yesterday in Inanda: "Officers from the Cato Manor police station had arrested three suspects during a raid in the Ezimangweni area of Inanda when the shooting took place."
She said that as the fourth suspect fled the scene of the raid, shots were exchanged between him and the officers. Sergeant Selvan Reddy's funeral will be held on Saturday at 2pm at the CRC Church in Unit 11, Chatsworth.