Honeymoon murder suspect Shrien Dewani gets bail

LONDON - Shrien Dewani, an Indian-origin man based in Britain accused of hiring a hitman to kill his bride while on honeymoon in South Africa, was granted bail, a media report said Friday.

The South African authorities want to extradite wealthy businessman Shrien Dewani, 30, for conspiracy to murder his newly wed wife Anni, 28.

She was found dead in the back of an abandoned taxi in a Cape Town township with a single bullet wound to her neck November 13.

Lawyers for the South Africans argued that there were substantial grounds for suspecting Dewani would not surrender for an extradition hearing later this month if he is allowed bail.

However, High Court judge Ouseley Friday disagreed with their accusations and allowed the Bristol care home owner’s bail application, telegraph.co.uk reported.

Dewani, who is held at London’s Wandsworth prison, is now due to be released from custody on stringent bail conditions and the payment of a 250,000-pound cash surety.

Dewani, from Westbury-on-Trym in Bristol, faces electronic tagging, home curfew and having to report daily to the police.

–Indo-Asian New Service