Shot in eye helping a child
A CHATSWORTH resident says he was helping a young child off the ground when he was shot in the eye during Monday night’s protest outside the local police station.
Naren Singh, 38, an area manager for a local security company, said he arrived at the scene to find hundreds of outraged residents demanding justice for Sadia Sukhraj’s death.
He said he was about to leave when police began using rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
“I was at the intersection when I heard loud bangs. People were running around and crawling on the ground. I saw a little boy on the floor and stopped to help him up. That was when I was struck in my left eye.”
Singh said he was not sure if it was a rubber bullet or shrapnel from the stun grenade but the force of the shooting cracked his glasses and left bruising under his eye.
Singh slammed police for treating protesters “like common criminals”.
“Yes, the crowd was getting angry and uncontrollable because they were frustrated at the turn of events. But the SAPS should have handled themselves in a proper manner as there were elderly people, along with women and children.
“Using tear gas was bad, especially for the older folk who suffer from wheezing, and their airways can collapse.”
He said he left the scene quickly to avoid further injury.
He said he was left heartbroken when he heard of Sadia’s death.
“It takes a lot for me to cry and I just lost it when I heard. I mean, I have a 7-year-old, and to think of anything happening to her is incomprehensible.”
SINGH said he had lost faith in the justice system and suggested that more visible patrolling was needed in the Chatsworth area.
Several other people were also injured during the retaliation by police, many sharing pictures of severe bruising from the impact of rubber bullets.
Police, however, claimed that many of the community members were “drunk and disorderly” and burnt tyres, obstructed the road and “hurled” objects towards the police station while attempting to “force” the gates open.
“The group demanded that police hand over the arrested suspect to them so they could deal with him through mob justice. Police were compelled to use minimum force to disperse the group as they posed a threat to members of the community and police.
“A total of 20 suspects were arrested for public violence and will appear in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday (today)”, said Brigadier Jay Naicker of the KZN SAPS.
He said the acting provincial commissioner had visited the Chatsworth police station this week to assess the state of policing in the precinct.
“Following the meeting, he directed the station management to submit a plan to him in terms of how they will deploy their manpower and vehicles to ensure heightened visibility and increased police operations, which will ensure that the movements of criminals are curtailed,” Naicker said.