Will Justice Be Delivered To Anni Hindocha? by News Collective

Newlyweds Anni Hindocha and Shrien Dewani were honeymooning in South Africa when a carjacking went horribly wrong and cut short her life on 13 November 2010. Anni was shot in the neck while Shrien was thrown out of the car unscathed.

And the question that is perplexing most South African observers is why Shrien was allowed to walk away from the hijacking so easily especially when he could identify the hijackers to the police. In most hijacking cases, the couple are beaten up badly and robbed and the woman is abused in front of the husband. If fortunate, the victims are left by the roadside while the unlucky victims are killed and their vehicle set on fire to eliminate all evidence.

But in the Anni Hindocha murder case, everything was done differently.

Fairytale wedding cut short abruptly

They had married two weeks earlier in Mumbai, India in a lavish Hindu ceremony that was attended by relatives and close friends. Anni was to move in with Shrien when they returned back to the United Kingdom from a four-day safari in the Kruger National Park and a relaxing stay in the five-star comforts of the Cape Grace hotel in Cape Town.

According to Shrien, on 13 November 2010, Anni and he wanted to experience the 'real South Africa' and requested their tax driver to take them to Gugulethu, a massive shantytown in the suburbs of Cape Town. When their car had stopped at a traffic light, it was hijacked by two gunmen who robbed and dumped him out of the car and shot dead his new bride.

The brutal murder of Anni Hindocha shocked South Africa and as the news spread abroad, everyone expressed sympathy for Shrien at the tragic loss of his wife.

However, as the South African police started their investigations into the murder mystery, a different picture started to emerge.

Taxi driver alleges Shrien wanted his wife dead

The taxi driver arrested for the murder, in his Court testimony, alleged that Shrien Dewani was the mastermind behind Anni's murder and had paid him money to arrange it to look like a robbery gone horribly wrong.



Denying the allegation, Shrien said he handed over his 2,000 Rado watch, digital camera, 500 in cash, mobile phone and his wife's jewelry that included her engagement ring to the hijackers. While trying to save his sobbing wife, he was thrown out of the car along with the driver uninjured. He adds that he banged on nearby shanties to raise an alarm but nobody came to help him.

When leaving South Africa for the UK, Shrien said that the idea of visiting Gugulethu was his wife's as she wanted to see the 'real South Africa' and he had no idea that a mere visit to the shantytown would kill his wife.

South African police investigations have shown that the brutal murder shooting was not just a random case and it was a planned hit. The driver has become a state witness and the South African authorities want to question Shrien about his alleged involvement in his wife's murder. As he has refused to voluntarily go back to South Africa, the South African police have requested the UK court to extradite him and help them solve the murder mystery of Anni Hindocha.

It remains to be seen if the Court extradites Shrien to South Africa and help the local authorities solve the murder mystery of Anni and deliver justice to her shocked and grieving family and friends.

An online petition requesting Shrien's extradition has been started, click here to sign it.

Visit:

http://www.newscollective.com/blog/?p=3287

http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41710.html

- This article has been written by Rohan Dias, Senior Content Editor at NewsCollective.