Thaindian News

London, Dec 6 (IANS) Anni Dewani, the Indian-origin woman who was murdered while on her honeymoon in South Africa, may have been sexually assaulted before being killed, a media report said here Monday.

The 28-year-old engineering graduate of Ugandan-Indian descent from Sweden, was killed in Cape Town Nov 13 when two men hijacked the car she and her Indian-origin British husband, Shrien, were travelling in.

The driver was later charged with murder, leading to suspicions that the attack may have been planned, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Sources involved in the case suggested the woman could have been sexually assaulted too, a claim repeatedly denied by South African police until now.

On Sunday it emerged that police now believe she may have been shot accidentally as her abductors argued over whether or not to rape her.

It is believed one of the two gunmen who kidnapped her may have accidentally pulled the trigger during a physical scuffle as the pair argued, the report said.

Police sources have told the newspaper that a preliminary autopsy report indicated Anni had suffered horrific injuries pointing to sexual assault.

“It was noted that her clothing had been removed and that she showed signs of serious trauma,” a source said. “There were obvious signs of a struggle and of violence before her death.”

Witnesses who saw Anni’s body as it lay in the back of the abandoned taxi have also cast doubt that she had not been sexually assaulted.

Shrien, a businessman from Westbury-on-Trym, near Bristol, has repeatedly denied any involvement in the car jacking. Shrien escaped unhurt after hijackers reportedly forced him out of the car at gunpoint, before driving away with his newly-married wife.

Three people — Xolile Mngeni, 23, Mzwamadoda Qwabe, 26, and the taxi driver, Zola Tongo, 31 — were charged with murder and kidnapping after being arrested within days of the killing.

A court has heard that Tongo is considering entering a plea bargain deal with prosecutors.

Max Clifford, who is representing Shrien, said his client was at home in Britain under sedation and receiving medical attention and trauma counselling.