Court hears that affair was motive for murder of wife
SECOND-time murder accused Rajiv Sewnarain had a motive for allegedly taking out his wife Shanaaz – an extramarital affair, the Durban High Court heard this week.
“This was going on for a few months. The affair gave him motive,” Viresh Panday, the police investigating officer, testified on Monday.
He was explaining the sequence of events leading up to Sewnarain’s arrest on December 22, 2010.
Sewnarain is being re-tried for the murder of his wife who was shot dead execution-style in an alleged staged hijacking on December 10, 2010. Her body was found in Folweni.
Shanaaz was 40 at the time and mother to Sewnarain’s two children, Srikesh, 24, and Srivastha, 20.
Ten days later, the former truck repair businessman allegedly confessed to the murder and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
He thereafter appealed against his conviction and sentence, alleging that he could not remember the confession.
In his testimony, Panday said he had inspected a Hyundai Getz in Folweni.
“Upon close inspection, I noticed a female (Shanaaz) in the rear left-hand side. There were also pizza boxes next to her.”
Panday said he noticed blood on her head and clothing and the window next to the body was shattered.
“There were three gunshot wounds visible to me. I could see a wound to the right side of her temple and two shots towards the heart.”
He said these were contact wounds which meant that the shooter had placed the gun directly on to her skin.
“Burn marks are left behind when a gun is placed on the skin and fired.”
He said he also noticed spent cartridges in the vicinity of the deceased’s feet.
“This was overkill. The victim appeared to already be injured; her arm was in a sling and she could offer very little resistance to the hijacking.”
He said the next day during the post-mortem, an exit wound on her left temple was observed, which tied in to the shattered window.
Panday said the examiner probed the entry wound on Shanaaz’s chest and found a projectile still lodged inside.
“From the X-ray, there were also old pellets from a previous shooting still in her body.”
Shanaaz had been recovering from an attempted hijacking that occurred just a month before her death. She was shot multiple times 100m from her home while returning from an outing with her husband.
Panday said on December 13 that year, Sewnarain was taken to SAPS offices in Prospecton where he revealed his version of events.
“He was clear, accurate and detailed. At no point was he hesitant.”
Panday said police decided to retrace his steps and that he had later taken a statement from him.
Prosecutor Cheryl Naidu then produced a document and asked Panday to identify it.
He confirmed that it was Sewnarain’s statement. Naidu asked him to read it out.
“I left home with my wife and proceeded with the red hired Getz to my office en route to Scooters, Bluff,” Sewnarain’s purported statement read.
After buying the pizza the accused allegedly said in the statement that he had noticed a dark-coloured BMW park in front of him and a white VW Citi Golf also park in front.
He said two men armed with pistols approached their car and one got in with Shanaaz and the other next to him.
“Shanaaz was hysterical and shouted to me, ‘Dee, Dee, please help me. What’s going on here?’ I told her to remain calm, we will give them whatever they want,” the statement read, adding that Sewnarain was shot and pushed out of the vehicle on the M35 on Folweni Road.
Panday said he later found surveillance footage at two private factories that did not corroborate Sewnarain’s version.
Panday continued, saying his team questioned a Folweni resident, whose statement was contrary to that of Sewnarain.