'For the love of Anni liberate us from this torture': Murdered bride's parents plead with Dewani

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Jane Flanagan12 April 2012

The parents of murdered honeymoon bride Anni Dewani pleaded with their son-in-law today to return to South Africa and face justice.

Father Vinod Hindocha spoke after he and wife Nilam visited the street where her daughter's body was found. They laid a heart-shaped wreath and lit lanterns around a photograph of her at the spot in Khayelitsha township.

Mr Hindocha, 52, said only Shrien Dewani, accused of killing his wife, could end their suffering: "We want an end to the story with answers that only Shrien can give. He should be here praying with us. We hope every single day that he will return to South Africa."

Mr Dewani, 31, denies organising the murder of his wife in a faked carjacking in the township near Cape Town, and is fighting extradition to South Africa.

Mrs Hindocha, 49, was too emotional to speak but in a statement released earlier she said: "I beg you for the love of Anni to liberate us all from this torture. Shrien, please do this in the name of love and in honour of the kind and beautiful girl who was your wife and will forever be my adored daughter.

"As a mother I cannot rest and my grief remains raw because the case goes on and on."

The couple, who are originally from Uganda and live in Sweden, sobbed quietly as a Hindu priest gave a blessing. They also retraced the journey Mrs Dewani made on the night she died. Her body was found slumped in the back of a Volkswagen Sharan on November 13. She had been shot twice in the neck.

Mr and Mrs Hinocha arrived in Cape Town last week for the court appearance of Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25, and Xolile Mngeni, 23. The pair are accused of abducting and killing Mrs Dewani after faking a carjacking. The trial will start in June. Zola Tongo, the taxi driver who took the Dewanis to the township on the night Anni died, is serving 18 years in jail. In a plea bargain, he claimed Mr Dewani asked him to recruit the alleged hitmen.

Dewani, of Westbury-on-Trym, Britsol, is due before City of Westminster magistrates on March 23 when the South African authorities are expected to apply for his bail to be reversed.

Last week, he fell ill after what South African prosecutors interpreted as a suicide bid. The Dewani family denied this.

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