Police and security companies are searching for community patrollers who are alleged to have burnt a homeless man to death during the early hours of Sunday morning in the Verulam CBD.
A member of Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) was on patrol when he was informed of the incident by a passer-by.
“Reaction officers interviewed the homeless man who explained that he and a friend are vagrants. He alleged that they were sleeping under a bridge next to the Umdloti River when they noticed two unbranded vehicle with white flashing lights stopped on the R102 at about 3am on Sunday. Occupants of the vehicles approached them and burnt their blankets and other belongings,” said Prem Balram from RUSA.
He said the homeless man said he had managed to flee but had left his friend behind, only to return a few hours later to discover his friend’s burnt body.
“The deceased is believed to have crawled under a supporting pillar in an attempt to evade his attackers and the heat from the fire,” said Mr Balram.
He said reaction officers transported the complainant to the scene situated at the dead end of Wick Street in the Verulam CBD. They found Verulam SAPS on the scene, and the charred remains of the deceased was under the base of an upright support pillar.
Verulam SAPS said they were investigating a case of murder and together with security companies were searching for the community patrollers allegedly involved in this incident.
