Chatsworth hijacking: Thousands including strangers give Sadia Sukhraj a fitting final send-off

They came in their thousands – school friends‚ teachers‚ family‚ friends and even strangers‚ united in tears and in stunned disbelief that the Everest Primary School grade four pupil was no more.

Even the scholar patroller‚ identified as Coach‚ who Chatsworth scholar Sadia Sukhraj hugged every morning and afternoon‚ could not believe that the bubbly nine-year-old was no more.

A crowd that swelled to about 3‚000 people - which included politicians‚ police and civic organisation representatives in the township south of Durban - paid their last respects at a highly emotional funeral on Tuesday.

Streams of mourners queued alongside the white coffin bearing the body of the little girl‚ clad in a pink dress with a tiara atop her head‚ as her father‚ Pastor Shailendra Sukhraj‚ and her mother Lorraine wept.

The death of the little girl‚ who was referred to as "princess" by her father‚ sent shockwaves through the community.

The child had been with her father Shailendra on a school run on Monday when he was pulled from the car while in the driveway of her grandfather's Shallcross home by three men‚ who then sped off with Sadia - her father in pursuit.

From whose gun the fatal bullet was fired remains veiled in mystery‚ as police investigated the shooting that followed after the hijackers fled in the car.

Their escape was cut short when they collided with a truck‚ losing control of the car‚ which spun and came to rest in a neighbourhood park. One of the men fled the scene‚ a second was arrested while a third accomplice died near the stolen car.

The injured girl‚ found lying in the car‚ is understood to have been rushed to the hospital where she later died.

"Little did Shailendra know that on Monday morning would be his last time with her. Just the night before he joined community members on the roadside to discuss the escalating crime in the area. In an instant the apple of his eye was snatched from him in the most gruesome manner‚" Pastor Paul Lutchman told mourners at the funeral service.

As he uttered these words‚ Shailendra leaned into his wife‚ Lorraine‚ and wept. The inconsolable couple held onto each other throughout the service.

Tears streamed down both their faces as they watched a video tribute which featured photographs of their daughter as a toddler at the beach‚ her birthday parties and cuddling in bed with them.

When religious leaders spoke of Sadia being free‚ her mother sobbed: "I want to be free with her."

Her muffled cries of "my baby" could be heard in the Christian Revival Centre where mourners queued to glimpse the body of the child before paying their respects to the grieving family.

Everest Primary School principal Anesh Singh said he was expecting to see Sadia in his office on Monday morning to discuss her progress in mathematics and Afrikaans but instead he got the call about her tragic death.

"The learners have lost a leader. She was somebody special. She was someone who touched every person that she met. She was someone who hugged and loved every teacher‚" he said.

Sadia was later buried at the Shallcross Cemetery.

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