Pretoria - Laudium businessman Sikander Kalla is alleged to have been abducted and his driver Imtiaz “DK” Suleman shot four times on Tuesday afternoon. However, police had by late yesterday yet to confirm the incident.
The attack has nonetheless sent shock waves within the business community in Pretoria and across the country.
The news broke on Tuesday night with a tweet reading: “My beloved brethren in humanity. It is with great sadness I inform you all that the Father of Madressah Hifzul Quran, Uncle Sikander Kalla, was kidnapped earlier today.”
It went on to say: “Suleman, who was driving Sikander home, was shot and is unfortunately no longer with us.”
Yesterday, the business fraternity and Laudium community awoke to the news that the Advance Cash n Carry Pretoria boss had been abducted and his staff member Suleman had been shot four times and left in their vehicle on Tuesday afternoon.
Reports indicated that the two were driving on Rebecca Street in Pretoria West in a silver-grey vehicle when they were accosted by suspects.
The men shot Suleman .
They left his body slumped behind the wheel and fled with Kalla, according to a member of the Laudium business community who asked not to be named for fear of being targeted.
He said a ransom of R180 million had since been made for the safe return of Kalla.
SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said they were unaware of the incident and could not confirm that Kalla had been kidnapped or that Suleman had been killed. However, anti-crime and community activist Yusuf Abramjee, a resident of Laudium, said the affected families were not yet ready to discuss the incident.
On social media, condolences were pouring in from the Muslim community, where people from other religious groups were asked to recite any paragraph of their choice as well as a Surah Yaseen for Kalla’s safe return.
Another post had details of the driver’s funeral arrangements, described as “the son of Anver and Meroon DK, husband of Shafia, father of Mishka, Nasreen and Almaaz, brother of Mamdu, Aboo and Gori Boots, father-in-law of Aasif Joosub, Waseem Carrim and Saaif Essa”.
In 2017, a businessman from the area, Omar Carrim, then 76, was kidnapped and released four months later.
At the time, it was feared there was a syndicate targeting businessmen in the area.
Pretoria News