Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 2013-07-23

Three suspects aged between 21-38 have been arrested and charged with the murder of 36 year old Afzal Badat who was brutally murdered in Lenasia Extension 13 on Sunday 21st July.

The trio appeared in the Protea Magistrates Court on the 22nd July. Three additional suspects who were accomplices to the murder are on the run.

According to a family friend who spoke to Radio Islam on the condition of anonymity, said that Badat was walking with a female friend along Berilium Drive in Lenasia, Extension 13 when he was accosted by the group who allegedly accused him of stealing something.

Thereafter Badat was allegedly beaten with a spade by the six suspects, his screams alerting a neighbour.

“The neighbour said that essentially around 4:45am or 5am Sehri time (pre-dawn meal), he heard screaming which sounded like a male. Screaming, begging for his life. Essentially asking for maaf (forgivness), saying ‘please don’t hit me’, etc. The neighbour than proceeded, he went to the back of his yard; he stood on his vehicle and screamed to the guys ‘what’s going on?’ And the guys said, ‘This guy stole something,’ the alleged suspects also asked the neigbour to call the cops,” said the friend.

According to the neighbor Badat was then allegedly stripped of his clothes and dragged down the street to a house of a suspected drug dealer leaving behind a trail of blood.

The blood trail according to Badat’s friend allegedly led to the suspected drug dealer’s garage. Once in the garage, the door was shut and its alleged Badat was apparently savagely beaten with a spade and put on a couch that was set alight by the suspects.

The female that was in the company of Badat was also taken into the garage but was unharmed. It’s unclear how she managed to evade or escape the suspects. She however remains a key witness and has subsequently provided the police with a statement.

Badat's friend indicates that he and a couple of reservist’s police officers went to the suspected drug dealer’s house and requested access to the garage from the daughter of the suspected drug dealer who was not home at the time.

Once inside, police from Lenasia Police station arrived on the scene. "And we all went into the garage, the guys obviously took photos, etc., no one touched anything.  But in the garage was a burnt couch, you could see the garage was washed out, there was a couple of spades with blood on it and a towel, a soiled towel which was soiled with blood…but you could see it was definitely… and there was blood on the walls so, Afzal was definitely there in the garage,” the friend said.

Badat’s body was found across the road from the suspected drug dealer’s house on the same street with an open wound to the head and burn wounds all over his body.
 
Radio Islam was told by the Investigating officer Captain Rametse to contact the media liaison officer at the Lenasia police station who was unavailable to comment at the time of going to print.