Cop’s link to killers
Constable, girlfriend arrested for murder
APOLICEMAN who is alleged to have held Mount Edgecombe businesswoman Nalin Naidu’s legs while her killers slit her throat has been arrested, after months on the run.
The 32-year-old constable and his 42-year-old girlfriend, a pharmaceutical representative, were nabbed on Thursday in the Eastern Cape.
This followed an intensive search by the SAPS Provincial Task Team, made up of, among others, Warrant Officers Praved Maharaj, Rajan Govender, Otto Du Plessis, Denver Parbhu and Rajen Nagesar.
The couple had been on the run since June.
Their arrest brings to six the number of people who have been linked to the October 2014 murder of Naidu, 47.
Her husband Seelan, a former policeman turned businessman, also 47, was recently fingered as the mastermind of the murder and is an awaiting-trial prisoner at Westville Prison.
His wife and mother of his two sons, aged 13 and 27, was found murdered in a field in Shongweni on October 29. Her throat had been slit and her face had been disfigured.
Seelan told police at the time that his wife had gone missing from Malvern Shopping Centre, where she had gone to see a Pakistani man regarding the purchase of face creams.
The constable, who has been in the police service for more than seven years, is alleged to have hired hitmen Zwelakhe Maphumulo, 41, and Gcina Magwaza, 37, who have already been convicted of the murder.
They were jailed for 30 years and 22 years respectively.
Apart from hiring the hitmen, who are his alleged friends, a source familiar with the case told POST that it was the constable who had driven Nalin to her death in his car, a grey VW Polo. He allegedly also held her legs while Maphumulo slit her throat.
The car has been seized by the police and is undergoing forensic analysis.
According to the source, the constable’s girlfriend had been a friend of Seelan’s and worked as an agent, referring people to the three pharmacies Seelan had run with his wife – Bellair Pharmacy in Bellair, Baymed Pharmacy in Bayview, Chatsworth, and Shannon Drive Pharmacy in Reservoir Hills.
The court previously heard that Maphumulo was promised R55 000 “for the job” by the alleged mastermind but was only paid R15 000.
During his guilty plea in May, Maphumulo told the court he was also given R1 000 by the alleged mastermind, which he said he had used to buy the knife used to slit Naidu’s throat, in addition to alcohol for him and other members of the hit squad.
In June, Kholekile Marriah Sithole, 41, was arrested and released on bail. Sithole is alleged to have handed an envelope to Nalin in Bellair moments before her kidnapping.
On June 28, Seelan handed himself over to the Durban North SAPS. During his bail application his attorney, Siven Samuel, argued that his client’s ill health was a serious concern.
Seelan’s trial may only begin in 2017. As part of his bail application his defence said that he intended pleading not guilty and if granted bail would not interfere with State witnesses. Although allegedly not a flight risk, the court twice denied him bail.
The couple arrested last week are expected to apply for bail on Friday.
In 2006, Seelan was sentenced to a period of correctional supervision and given a four-year suspended sentence for trying to kill his wife.
Nalin, who was shot at about five times while dropping off her youngest son at school, had apparently forgiven him then.
Speaking outside court on Friday, Nalin’s cousin Eric Jugdeo said he was relieved that the two outstanding accused had been arrested.
“We are now waiting for the trial to start so that justice can prevail.”
Sithole and Seelan will appear in court again on Tuesday.
A 32-year-old policeman and his 43-year-old girlfriend, a pharmaceutical representative, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder of Mount Edgecombe businesswoman Nalin Naidu. Making their first appearance in court, the couple are seen with members of the Provincial Task Team comprising Warrant Officers Praved Maharaj, Rajan Govender, Otto Du Plessis, Denver Parbhu and Rajen Nagesar.