‘REVENGE
ATTACK’
August 4 2011 at 11:36am
CANDICE
SOOBRAMONEY
IT WAS a
revenge attack. That is how the Tongaat family of police Captain Neelavathie
(Cookie) Naidu described her slaying at the Rosebank Police Station on Monday
afternoon.
The 46-year-old mother of two, a support head
at the Johannesburg police station, was shot dead by a colleague – a civilian
clerk – against whom she had given evidence at a disciplinary hearing. Naidu
was shot twice in the chest and twice in the left arm. She died at the scene.
The station’s police commander, Lt Colonel
Thandi Mkhize, who was shot in the chest, stomach and leg by the clerk, is in a
critical but stable condition at the Netcare Milpark Hospital.
Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa, said the
man was about to be handed judgment to be expelled after he was involved in
helping to put firearms in the wrong hands.
The clerk, whom Mthethwa added was not
suppose to have a service pistol, in turn shot himself.
According to Naidu’s family, she (Cookie)
recently led evidence against the clerk. They believe her murder was a revenge
attack.
Speaking about the incident yesterday
(Tuesday), Naidu’s brother-in-law, Ravi Naicker, of Tongaat, Durban, said a
special investigating unit should have been established to deal with the
internal affairs at police stations.
He said Naidu, of Triomf, near Auckland Park,
went to work everyday while the case was being dealt with. “She saw this person
face to face. In future police matters should be handled by outside
investigators,” remarked Naicker.
The deceased’s sister, Captain Neetha
Naicker, a commander for the supply chain management at KwaMashu SAPS, believed
the shootings were premeditated.
“He shot my sister first before shooting the
station commander. Yes, we think it was a revenge attack,” said Capt Naicker,
who added she could not bear the prospect of returning to work.
Both sisters became fully fledged police
officers in 2007.
She said she and Naidu often spent hours on
the telephone talking about work.
“We were both passionate about being on the
force and often spent our time talking about work. The incident just makes one
think, if we are suppose to protect the community who is there to protect us?”
Capt Naicker said their 72-year-old mother,
Gonum Naidoo, could not come to terms with what had happened.
Naidu became a civilian clerk at Inanda SAPS,
in Durban, in 1984, and transferred to Westville station.
Seeking better opportunities she and her
family relocated to Gauteng and was based at Hillbrow SAPS as an inspector and
was promoted to captain at Rosebank SAPS.
In April Naidu and her two children, Devina
(9) and Crishen (10), were dealt a blow when her husband, Vinod, died.
Despite this, she surged ahead for the sake
of their children.
The youngsters, said Naicker, who were in the
care of Naidu’s older sister, Vijie Moodley, were scheduled to head for Durban
yesterday. They will remain at his Tongaat home until a decision is made on who
will take care of them.
Naidu’s burial is expected to take place
tomorrow at the Tongaat Town Hall in Durban.
Meanwhile, Captain Henry Bendeman, the head
of detectives at Rosebank SAPS and a friend, said the staff had received
counselling.
“We are not coping too well. It will take us
some time to get over the shootings and her untimely death,” said Bendeman.
He described Naidu as a pleasant person who
enjoyed her job.
Eve Jammy, a former chairman of the Community
Policing Forum, said she was gutted by what had happened. “I had known
Neelavathi for a long time. She was a lovely, admirable and hardworking woman.
I still cannot believe what had happened,” said Jammy.
Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel
Tshisikhawe Ndou said he could not comment on whether the killings were a
revenge attack. “The member (clerk) was investigated internally for misconduct,
so I don’t know if one can call the killings a revenge attack,” said Ndou.
He could
not comment on whether Naidu was the only person leading evidence against the
clerk or others were involved.
