JOHANNESBURG: According to local media sources, South African police are still looking for an eight-year-old Indian girl who was abducted by two armed men in Gatesville, Cape Town, two weeks ago.
Abirah Dekhta, a student of Rylands Primary School, was sitting in her school transport vehicle when she was abducted in November 4.
Aslam Dekhta, an entrepreneur in the cell phone industry, and his wife Salama, who live in Rylands and are originally from India, the Cape Times reported.
The Gatesville Neighbourhood Watch's chair, Fowzia Veerasamy, stated that after providing the police with CCTV evidence, no new leads had emerged. Veerasamy said, the lift club driver had parked his maroon car in the driveway at Amber Court when a white Nissan double cab bakkie sped up into the area.
Armed men who had just jumped out of the car detained the driver at gunpoint. According to Veerasamy, they grabbed Abirah by the neck and dragged her into the bakkie while stealing the driver's smartphone.
The South African Police Service has indicated that they were not able to comment about the case because of the sensitivity of the investigation.
As per local media reports, Abirah's case is the latest in at least 200 kidnappings in the Western Cape, involving mainbly foreign nationals in the past few months. They said that ransom is the primary motive in the majority of kidnappings.
Abirah's family said that, they have been impatiently awaiting a call from the individuals who abducted their daughter. Hundreds of worried Gatesville locals protested at the police station in Athlone over the weekend, calling for Abirah's prompt and secure return.
"We desire Abirah. Our goal is fairness. Bring Abirah back, "The demonstrators shouted.
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