Durban - One of the men charged with three counts of attempted murder in the July 2021 civil unrest has been acquitted.
Dinesh Chetty, walked out of the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on Monday a free man.
His Advocate Niven Rai told IOL: "There is an old adage that says, 'the truth shall set you free'. Nothing could be more apt in Dinesh's case. The truth has set him free and we are elated."
A total of 486 people had been arrested for offences related to the unrest that took place in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Chetty was among 31 people charged with attempted murder.
According to Rai, Chetty was tried on three counts of attempted murder and 3 counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
He said his client was released on bail nine days after his arrest, but had been attending the trial.
Rai said his client was acquitted based on the inconsistencies in the testimony of witnesses.
“It has been a long road and my client is happy that he is now able to move on with his life, almost two years later.”
Rai said if convicted the prescribed minimum sentence for robbery was 15 years and attempted murder 5 years on each count.
He said they were considering their legal recourse but nothing was final.
In another court case related to the July unrest, four Phoenix men charged with murder spent over 100 days in jail until they were released.
Sholan Reddy, 33, Kirosh Maharaj, 31, Sumeeth Maharaj, 29, and Khalik Mohammed, 59, were each granted R5 000 bail.
Justin Lee Pillay, charged with two counts of attempted murder and a malicious damage to property spent six month behind bars before he was released on bail.
IOL