Kloof man found dead in Bellair: Retracing a murder victim’s final steps
No arrests have been made yet in connection to the murder of the man from Kloof whose body was found in the abandoned house on Mount Vernon Road.
DHANPALL Rajcoomar’s lifeless body was found, with his wrists and ankles tied with cable ties, in an abandoned house in Bellair on Thursday, 15 October.
Since his body was found over a month ago there have been no further updates on the investigation into what happened to the 52-year-old from Kloof, who was reported missing on Tuesday, 14 October by his family after he didn’t return from a trip to Bellair.
His vehicle was later found at a property in Chatsworth.
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Investigations
Shortly after the body was found, a woman, from Chatsworth was questioned in relation to the incident. However, a month later police remain tight lipped about updates on the case.
Bellair SAPS said the woman had been questioned about the deceased’s vehicle which had been recovered in a property she owned before she was released.
Bellair SAPS communications officer, Sgt Pam Pillay confirmed that the woman, who had been taken into custody, had since been released and was not a suspect.
“The woman was arrested for investigation purposes. She was detained and later released after investigation,” said Pillay, adding that the investigation was ongoing and further arrests are expected.
Last steps
The Queensburgh News, retraced Rajcoomar’s steps last week and met up with Bellair CPF member, Dave Laas, at Bellair SAPS and followed him to the abandoned house on Mount Vernon Road where Rajcoomar’s body was found two days later.
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“When you arrange to meet someone you don’t know, you would tend to think of a police station as a safe, public place,” said Laas.
“One doesn’t expect to come to harm when arranging to meet someone at a police station.”
Neighbourhood
Inderpersadh Bunsi, who lives across the road from the abandoned and derelict house where Rajcoomar’s lifeless body was found, said the state of the house had remained unchanged for more than two decades.
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Riki Devnarain, who also lives near the abandoned house, said the The Deltas, also known as the Mount Vernon Patrollers and aligned with the Bellair Community Policing Forum (CPF) patrolled the area frequently.
“We patrol regularly, but as long as these properties are left in the derelict state they are in presently, there is little we can do because they provide opportunities for criminals to hide, while being close enough to observe the neighbourhood,” he said.
“There are often people who are there, sometimes climbing the trees and looking over fences into the yards of other homes in the area,” said Bunsi.
“When the body was found there was a lot of attention drawn to the area,” said Bunsi sadly. “Maybe now someone will take our fears seriously and do something about this dangerous situation.”
This story originally appeared in the print edition of the Queensburgh News dated 27 November 2020
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