Brother wants probe into ‘murder’
AYEAR after a Chatsworth man was found hanging from the rafters of his garage in an apparent suicide, his family firmly believe he may, in fact, have been murdered.
The shock death of Densil Singh, 42, who worked at the eThekwini Water Department, had long raised the suspicions of his family, who now want the police to dig deeper.
His brother, Deon Singh, said he recalled having received a call that fateful day in February last year informing him that “something bad” had happened to Densil and that he needed to come to his brother’s home in Kharwastan.
“When I arrived at the home, I was informed by my relatives that he had committed suicide in the garage. I just broke down. I could not believe what I was hearing.”
Singh said as he walked to the garage he felt a cold shiver go down his spine.
“My brother was lying on the floor with a carpet covering him. I was told by (relatives) that they found him hanging from the rafters and they had to cut him down.
“As I sat beside his body weeping,” said Singh, “something did not feel right. I remembered that a month before his death, he hurt his right hand while checking a water meter. The lid had fallen on his hand, crushing his middle finger and he was unable to use that hand properly.”
This, he explained, made him realise that it was impossible for his brother to have tied the rope around his neck.
“I also noticed that there was no chair or ladder to aid him in his suicide attempt. The rope he used was a thin, short piece of nylon rope without a noose. Around his neck he had severe injuries,” he said.
“My sister-in-law accepted it was a suicide but I was determined to get answers because I knew my brother would never commit suicide.”
After months of waiting, he said he finally got a copy of the post-mortem results a few weeks ago.
“It stated that his injuries were consistent with hanging. However, manual strangulation should be considered. This showed that there was foul play and now I am praying that the case is changed to murder.”
For Singh, breaking the news to his elderly mother, Mala Singh, was the most painful thing he had to do.
“My mother shares a very close relationship with her children and when my brother died, it was very hard for her to accept. I watched her cry every day for the past year and now it is even harder because we know for sure he did not commit suicide.”
Singh said as a family, they needed proper closure and the person responsible for his death needed to be caught.
Singh described Densil as a loving person and a devoted father to his daughter, Hermani.
“He loved her so much and he would never do anything to rob her of having a father. He wanted to do so much with her. Just before he died, we were planning a day out to uShaka Marine World and SunCoast Casino.”
Singh said he would not stop until he found out the truth.
Densil’s wife, Sandeera, declined to comment.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said the post-mortem results reflected that the death was consistent with hanging, but did not rule out strangulation.
“The docket therefore remains as an inquest and investigations are continuing,” said Zwane.