Bullets fly over litter spat
‘Bully’ cop in dock after fight with neighbours
‘ALL you maad***s… I am going to kill you all.” These were the screams allegedly of an enraged Verulam policeman moments before he opened fire on his neighbours, seriously wounding an innocent bystander, following a row over a dirty plastic packet that ended up in his yard.
It is alleged the 35-year-old metro police officer came out of his home with guns blazing after hearing his father involved in a slanging match with a neighbour outside their homes last Wednesday.
The officer has since appeared in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on a charge of attempted murder. He was granted bail pending an investigation into the matter.
The wounded bystander, Salim Bayat, 52, is in a stable condition at a Durban hospital.
The neighbour, Prakash Sanichar, 49, a mechanic, likened the shooting to a Wild West movie. He said Bayat lived on his property and worked with him also as a mechanic and panel beater with two other men.
“We were all on the roadside fixing a vehicle when the metro cop’s father came outside to complain about a dirty plastic packet floating near his home. He went on to instruct one of my workers to stop what he was doing and pick up the packet.”
The father of three said he got upset because his workers were busy.
“I told the man not to do this to other people and if he saw the dirty packet he must pick it up. The man started arguing with me.
“As the argument escalated we began to shout and scream at each other. All of a sudden his son came rushing out of their house screaming, ‘All your maad***s I am going to kill you all,’ and just opened fire on us,” claimed Sanichar.
He said all he could see was a hail of bullets and then Bayat drop to the ground.
“I thought he was dead and I hid for cover, so did the other workers. My wife, who was inside our home with our 4-month-old grandson, also had to hide. Even though the cop saw Salim was shot, that did not stop him.” Sancihar said the officer fired about 13 rounds before fleeing.
“I rushed to Salim’s aid. Thankfully he was still breathing. He was shot in the stomach and bleeding continuously. A neighbour contacted Reaction Unit South Africa for help.”
The boss of the private security and emergency services provider, Prem Balram, described Bayat’s condition as initially critical and said paramedics stabilised him before transporting him to hospital.
For Sanichar, this incident was the last straw.
“We have been neighbours for 14 years. Previously the cop would get his friends to come and fine me for parking my trucks on the roadside. I never complained, I paid the fines. I even rented out a yard and now I park my trucks there.”
Sanichar said the shooting was uncalled for.
“He thinks that because he is a cop he can push his weight around and he will get away. His behaviour is a disgrace to the profession.”
Bayat, a father of three, has undergone surgery to his stomach to repair the bullet injury, according to his sister, Razia Banu Bayat. Describing her brother as a gentle person who kept to himself, Razia said he became a widower eight years ago when his wife Sameera died after contracting a rare skin disease.
“His children are cared for by his motherin-law while he works as a panel beater and mechanic with Prakash. Whatever money he earns goes towards his children.”
She said when she heard about the incident she was both angry and shocked.
“How can a police officer who is meant to protect the community turn around and harm them? My brother could have died. He does not deserve to be a cop, because he gives the profession a bad name.”
Razia said she hoped police would take the matter seriously and fire him.
The national spokesman for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, Moses Dlamini, confirmed they were investigating the shooting.
SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said they, too, were investigating.