Third suspect still on the run in fatal Chatsworth hijacking

A man thought to have links to the murder of nine-year-old Sadia Sukhraj is proving to be elusive‚ with police unable to track their prime suspect a month after the child was slain.

Sadia died from a gunshot wound sustained on May 28. She had been with her father‚ Shailendra‚ on a school run when three men took control of their car while in the driveway of a Shallcross home‚ before speeding off with Sadia.

Between the time they had left the house and the point when they had crashed‚ someone had opened fire on the car‚ with police remaining tight-lipped on whether or not they had identified the triggerman.

A man was killed at the scene of the crime and another‚ 39-year-old Sibonelo Mkhize‚ remains in custody and faces murder and theft charges. A mysterious figure‚ a third man whom police are focusing on‚ remains at large.

In the wake of her murder‚ Police Minister Bheki Cele addressed a crowd of concerned Chatsworth residents and said police were on the heels of the third man.

“Out of three [suspects] we are chasing one now. We have identified the criminal and we just need to go pick him up‚” Cele said at the time.

“The one that is dead has also got a long list of criminal activity‚ and so does the third one. We know him and we know where he stays‚” he added.

Police spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker said no further arrests had been made. Police would not be drawn on the outcome of ballistics tests of a gun belonging to the girl’s father‚ a prominent pastor.