Anni Dewani was 'in tears on honeymoon flight' before she was shot dead says father
28/11/2010 09:23:19
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By George Arbuthnott
Last updated at 3:23 PM on 28th November 2010
Questions: Vinod Hindocha, pictured here with daughter Anni Dewani, says she refused to sit next to her husband on their honeymoon flightThe British tourist murdered in South Africa burst into tears and refused to sit next to her husband as they flew off on their honeymoon, her father claimed last night.
Anni Dewani, 28, was shot dead when she and her new husband Shrien were hijacked by robbers as their taxi drove through a notorious township in Cape Town. Mr Dewani was released unharmed.
Yesterday Anni’s father, Vinod Hindocha, added to the mystery surrounding the case when he telephoned The Mail on Sunday and said: ‘We have heard that the air hostess noticed they were sitting separately and Anni was crying.
The air hostess apparently asked Anni if she would like to sit with Shrien, but Anni said no.’
It is not clear where this information originated from, or indeed how it was passed to Anni’s family. Pressed to elaborate, Mr Hindocha said: ‘We are not sure, it is something you will have to check out.’
Last night Mr Dewani’s British lawyer, Charlotte Harris, denied there was any hostility between the couple.
However her statement did not refute the allegation that Anni had been crying.
She said: ‘Any suggestion that there was hostility between the couple on the aeroplane or at any other point during the honeymoon is completely false.’ She added: ‘The Dewani family are upset about the Press intrusion into their grief at this very difficult time.’
Earlier, speaking from his home in Mariestad, Sweden, Mr Hindocha, 61, expressed disappointment that Mr Dewani, 31, had failed to return to Cape Town to try to identify the hijackers. A South African newspaper has claimed detectives want him to return to South Africa for questioning.
Taxi driver Zola Tongo, 31, and two local men have been charged with murder and robbery.
Mr Dewani has strenuously denied any involvement in the death of his wife. Max Clifford, the public relations adviser hired by Mr Dewani, said his client was not a formal suspect and would not be travelling back to Cape Town.
He said Mr Dewani was ‘under sedation’ after the shock of what he had been through.
Yesterday Mr Hindocha described how the murder had damaged his relationship with Mr Dewani. He said:
‘If Anni was alive today then our relationship would have been strong like father and son, but with Anni dead that bond isn’t there. I think he should go back to South Africa and point out the culprits.’
Witness: An air hostess has apparently claimed that Anni Dewani burst into tears on the flight with her husbandMr Hindocha said he flew to Cape Town to join Mr Dewani and his father, Prakash, hours after learning his daughter had been killed. ‘Shrien came up to me with tears in his eyes and said, “I couldn’t take care of your daughter as I promised.”
‘He then described how they had been kidnapped, robbed, and how, after he had been thrown out of the window, Anni was killed.
‘But later they were doing everything without me. Shrien was doing all the paperwork in a different room. I didn’t know who he was talking to, what he was doing or where he was going. I was shocked that they weren’t telling me what was happening.’
Mr Hindocha, an electrical engineer, said neither the South African police nor British or Swedish embassies had contacted him in the 10 days since he left Cape Town.
He also revealed that Mr Dewani had told his daughter before the wedding that he had been engaged before but did not say why it was broken off.
He said the marriage between Anni and Mr Dewani was not arranged and her family had not paid a dowry to the Dewani family during the lavish wedding held in Mumbai in September, which is understood to have cost in the region of £200,000.
Mr Hindocha said: ‘We are part of the Lohana caste and dowries do not exist in our culture. If I want to give him something it is up to me.’
Together: Shrien Dewani, pictured with Anni, has strictly denied any involvement in her murderHe added: ‘Anni and Shrien were introduced by relatives in England about 14 months ago but my daughter had to make up her own mind. I never spoke to Shrien’s family before the engagement – my daughter did not want us to meet the parents until she was sure. I did know Shrien was well educated.’
Mr Dewani is based in Westbury-on-Trym in Bristol where he runs a chain of care homes. The couple had planned to settle in the West Country.
Mr Hindocha described the moment his family heard the taxi carrying Anni had been hijacked. He said he spoke to his daughter on the phone just a couple of hours before the attack and she had assured him she was having a ‘lovely time’.
But later he received another phone call, from Prakash Dewani.
‘Anni’s father-in-law rang around midnight and said, “Your daughter is kidnapped but Shrien is fine.” At that moment my wife knew. She cried and said, “She is not alive, I feel it.” Shrien’s brother, Preyen, rang and said he had arranged tickets for a plane from Gothenburg.
‘I arrived in Amsterdam, where I was to catch my connecting flight to Cape Town and I switched my phone on and called home, hoping to hear what had happened to Anni. Before I could say anything they were crying and I knew she was dead.’
http://news1.ghananation.com/international/54011-anni-dewani-was-in-tears-on-honeymoon-flight-before-she-was-shot-dead-says-father.html
Last updated at 3:23 PM on 28th November 2010
Questions: Vinod Hindocha, pictured here with daughter Anni Dewani, says she refused to sit next to her husband on their honeymoon flightAnni Dewani, 28, was shot dead when she and her new husband Shrien were hijacked by robbers as their taxi drove through a notorious township in Cape Town. Mr Dewani was released unharmed.
Yesterday Anni’s father, Vinod Hindocha, added to the mystery surrounding the case when he telephoned The Mail on Sunday and said: ‘We have heard that the air hostess noticed they were sitting separately and Anni was crying.
The air hostess apparently asked Anni if she would like to sit with Shrien, but Anni said no.’
It is not clear where this information originated from, or indeed how it was passed to Anni’s family. Pressed to elaborate, Mr Hindocha said: ‘We are not sure, it is something you will have to check out.’
Last night Mr Dewani’s British lawyer, Charlotte Harris, denied there was any hostility between the couple.
However her statement did not refute the allegation that Anni had been crying.
She said: ‘Any suggestion that there was hostility between the couple on the aeroplane or at any other point during the honeymoon is completely false.’ She added: ‘The Dewani family are upset about the Press intrusion into their grief at this very difficult time.’
Earlier, speaking from his home in Mariestad, Sweden, Mr Hindocha, 61, expressed disappointment that Mr Dewani, 31, had failed to return to Cape Town to try to identify the hijackers. A South African newspaper has claimed detectives want him to return to South Africa for questioning.
Taxi driver Zola Tongo, 31, and two local men have been charged with murder and robbery.
Mr Dewani has strenuously denied any involvement in the death of his wife. Max Clifford, the public relations adviser hired by Mr Dewani, said his client was not a formal suspect and would not be travelling back to Cape Town.
He said Mr Dewani was ‘under sedation’ after the shock of what he had been through.
Yesterday Mr Hindocha described how the murder had damaged his relationship with Mr Dewani. He said:
‘If Anni was alive today then our relationship would have been strong like father and son, but with Anni dead that bond isn’t there. I think he should go back to South Africa and point out the culprits.’
Witness: An air hostess has apparently claimed that Anni Dewani burst into tears on the flight with her husband‘He then described how they had been kidnapped, robbed, and how, after he had been thrown out of the window, Anni was killed.
‘But later they were doing everything without me. Shrien was doing all the paperwork in a different room. I didn’t know who he was talking to, what he was doing or where he was going. I was shocked that they weren’t telling me what was happening.’
Mr Hindocha, an electrical engineer, said neither the South African police nor British or Swedish embassies had contacted him in the 10 days since he left Cape Town.
He also revealed that Mr Dewani had told his daughter before the wedding that he had been engaged before but did not say why it was broken off.
He said the marriage between Anni and Mr Dewani was not arranged and her family had not paid a dowry to the Dewani family during the lavish wedding held in Mumbai in September, which is understood to have cost in the region of £200,000.
Mr Hindocha said: ‘We are part of the Lohana caste and dowries do not exist in our culture. If I want to give him something it is up to me.’
Together: Shrien Dewani, pictured with Anni, has strictly denied any involvement in her murderMr Dewani is based in Westbury-on-Trym in Bristol where he runs a chain of care homes. The couple had planned to settle in the West Country.
Mr Hindocha described the moment his family heard the taxi carrying Anni had been hijacked. He said he spoke to his daughter on the phone just a couple of hours before the attack and she had assured him she was having a ‘lovely time’.
But later he received another phone call, from Prakash Dewani.
‘Anni’s father-in-law rang around midnight and said, “Your daughter is kidnapped but Shrien is fine.” At that moment my wife knew. She cried and said, “She is not alive, I feel it.” Shrien’s brother, Preyen, rang and said he had arranged tickets for a plane from Gothenburg.
‘I arrived in Amsterdam, where I was to catch my connecting flight to Cape Town and I switched my phone on and called home, hoping to hear what had happened to Anni. Before I could say anything they were crying and I knew she was dead.’
http://news1.ghananation.com/international/54011-anni-dewani-was-in-tears-on-honeymoon-flight-before-she-was-shot-dead-says-father.html
