Indian-origin man found murdered in S Africa

The body of 39-year-old Kervin Pramdutt was found in a graveyard in a blacktown ship with ten gunshot wounds on his body.

Police has found the bullet-ridden body of an Indian-origin man, while incidents of hijacking involving members of the community continues unabated.

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The body of 39-year-old Kervin Pramdutt was found in a graveyard in a blacktown ship with ten gunshot wounds on his body, most of them directed at his face.

"It was a horrific find," a police spokesperson said.

Police said Pramdutt had apparently early this week received a phone call from someone who wanted to pay his debt and asked him to "fetch the money".

On the same night residents living near the cemetery heard gun shots but were too frightened to venture out.

"The next morning a man walking near the graveyard found the body and called the police", said the police.

Pramdutt's killing follows a series of atrocities, including murder and hijacking, against Indian-origin people in South Africa.

Expressing concern over the steep rise in crime against Indians, Post newspaper, which mainly caters to the Indian community, observed: "In Newlands there were six hijackings reported since Friday, in Durban North 23 and Durban South, 21. Strangely the majority of victims were Indians. Are Indians seen as `soft targets'?"