COUPLE’S GRISLY END
THE brutal murder of elderly farming couple at their home in Cottonlands, Verulam, on Monday has left their families devastated and community reeling in shock.
The bodies of farmer Dhir Roy Singh, 68, and his partner, Kallawathie Beekarie, 64, were found in the bathroom by staff of security company Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa).
Singh sustained stab wounds to the neck, while Beekarie was found face down in the bathtub with her hands tied behind her back. It is believed she was strangled.
The couple, who were involved in religious activities, had lived a simple life.
They spent their days working in their garden to supplement their small fresh produce business but their killers somehow entered their home – stealing a television and a car, a Toyota Conquest.
A knife, suspected to have been used to commit the crime, was found in the living room.
“From what we know, they were last seen at a memorial ceremony on Saturday. Their worker came to the home on Monday to report for duty. He called out for them but there was no response,” said Singh’s son-in-law Nish Ishwarlall. The employee, he added, alerted family, who in turn tried to contact the couple via their cellphones but they rang unanswered.
“We assumed they went to the Verulam market or for prayers because the vehicle was not in the yard. The worker told us the doors and gates were also locked.”
Before heading out to check on the couple at noon, the family alerted Rusa to help gain access to the property.
“That’s when the officers discovered their bodies.”
Family members later stood outside the home watching in disbelief as police combed the area. They wept as the bodies were removed and placed in the mortuary van. Neighbours shook their heads in disbelief.
Ishwarlall said Singh was a father of five and had 10 grandchildren, while Beekarie had two children and two grandchildren.
“They were down-to-earth, jovial and compassionate people who would never harm anyone. With both of them being widowed, they started a companionship about five years ago. They collected a pension and sold fresh produce at the market to supplement their income. My father-in-law was also an astrologer and was well-known and respected in the community.”
Ishwarlall added that the family hoped the police investigation would shed light on what had transpired.
Rusa head Prem Balram said the doors to the home were locked and when an officer looked through the window, he noticed blood on the bedroom floor.
“Officers forced open the lock on the security gate leading to the veranda and climbed through an open window to find a pool of blood covered with a towel at the entrance of the bedroom. A blood trail led them to the bathroom, which was locked.”
They proceeded to break down the door. “The house was ransacked. A TV and a bottle green Toyota Conquest was taken,” Balram said. “A Stanley knife was found in the living room.”
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said a case of murder and robbery was being investigated.