Indian-origin woman on honeymoon killed in South Africa

LONDON - An Indian-origin woman, who was on her honeymoon with her wealthy British husband after they married in India, was murdered in a South African township, it was reported here.

Anni Dewani, 28, and her husband 31-year-old Shrien had left a restaurant with a driver in a car when they were hijacked by two gunmen near Cape Town, The Sun reported Monday.

The assailants forced out the driver and drove off with the newlyweds inside.

About an hour later, the gunmen stopped and threw out Shrien, who managed to flag down a passing motorist.

A police team spotted the vehicle abandoned two miles away in the township of Khayelitsha near Cape Town.

Anni’s blood-soaked body was found on the back seat. She was covered in bruises and was suspected to have been raped.

She was a mechanical engineer of Ugandan-Indian descent from Sweden.

It is believed she was hit in the head, but other reports suggested that she may have been stabbed.

“It is truly horrific. Our guys are used to dealing with tough situations but this they found hard to cope with,” a police officer was quoted as saying.

Shrien, a resident of Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, operates a chain of nursing care homes that is owned by his family.

The couple married two weeks ago at a resort outside Mumbai, India.

The media report said that the newly-weds attended an event in the town of Somerset West Saturday.

They were returning to their five-star Cape Grace hotel in Cape Town when they took their detour through the Guguletu township.

They are believed to have stopped at Mzoli’s restaurant where diners can barbecue their own food.

“Under the right circumstances, and in daylight, townships needn’t be too dangerous.,” a source said.

“But weekend nights are notoriously volatile. Many local people get paid on Fridays and so Saturdays everyone drinks away their wages. Some would say it was suicide for a young foreign couple to go to Guguletu on a Saturday night,” he said.