Murder sparks call for Westville satellite station return

PLANS are in the pipeline to bring back the satellite station to Westville North following the recent spike in house robberies and home invasions.

Fawzia Peer, eThekwini deputy mayor, said towards the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, there was a huge outcry from the community to curb the increase in crime.

She said the municipality heeded the call of Westville residents in February last year and set up a mobile closed circuit television (CCTV) command and control centre, to monitor crime in the area.

This was set up at the intersection of Dunkeld Road and Rodger Sishi Road, next to the Caltex garage.

“Once the mobile CCTV command and control centre was established, crime decreased considerably even though we experienced a few isolated incidents. The satellite station was removed when we had a 80 per cent reduction in crime until now when the crime suddenly increased again,” said Peer.

Peer said as chair of Metro Police, she has already given the directive to have the mobile CCTV command and control centre returned and is waiting for the authorities to locate and place it there.

ALSO READ: Armed robbers ransack two stores at Westwood Mall

This public outcry to curb the Westville North increase in crime follows the recent murder of a 63-year-old grandmother who was fatally shot and her son-in-law hospitalised with four gunshot wounds after two robbers stormed their Westville North home last Thursday night, 15 March.

KZN SAPS spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbhele, said it is believed the complainant, a well-known businessman, Imran Randeree (43) of Randeree Jewellers and his family were at their home in Duncan Drive, when they noticed two unknown men, forcing the bedroom door open around 9.25pm.

Capt Elizabeth Squires, communications officer at Westville SAPS, said it is believed the victim (Imran) was sitting outside when he saw two men walking up the driveway. He ran into the house and shut the security gates and locked the front door.

The two men, wearing balaclavas, went to the side of the house where they broke the burglar guards and broke the window of the bedroom to gain entry.

“As the robbers entered the room Imran tried to shut the bedroom door but was confronted by the robbers. The robbers opened fire and shot the Imran in the leg and face. His 63-year-old mother-in-law, Rookaya Dhooma-Desai, who was with him, was shot three times in the chest and died instantly,” said Squires.

The robbers stole a cellphone before they fled the crime scene on foot. Imran was rushed to the hospital.
“A case of house robbery, attempted murder and murder were opened at Westville police station for investigation. No arrests or recoveries have been made as yet,” said Mbhele.

ALSO READ: UPDATE: Randeree family responds to Westville home invasion

Drug related crimes

A concerned resident, Rivaaj Ramdas, highlighted the fact that Duncan Drive had been hit really hard in the past.

“It seems that violent crime – house robberies and home invasions characterised by murders and shootings – are flaring up again in Westville. I would like to appeal to Metro Police and more specifically the deputy mayor, Fawzia Peer, to please set up the satellite police station in Westville North at the same spot as before.

“This fixed the crime in Westville in the past. Please don’t let another life be lost. The time to act is now,” said Ramdas.

Ramdas added that while some of the home invasions have been characterised by sophisticated criminals in late model cars, he suggested that a number of the Westville North home robberies are the work of criminals from surrounding areas.

“In my own home robbery my dad’s phone that was taken and was tracked across the M19 freeway to an informal settlement in Clermont across the river and below the stadium. I attribute the spike in crime over the last few years in Westville to one major factor, Whoonga,” said Ramdas.

Ramdas said with the advent of cheap drugs making it’s way into informal settlements, he has seen communities in close proximity to these drug-affected areas falling victim to crime.

“It first started in Westville a few years ago with the petty thefts of copper pipes and the odd opportunistic theft of stuff lying around the garden, but now its turned to violent crime,” said Ramdas.

Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Highway Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts