A Durban beautician this week relived the ordeal of her husband of almost three years ignoring her screams for help as he scrolled through the banking app on her phone, depleting her accounts, while his two accomplices tried to kill her, at Winkelspruit Beach.
On Tuesday night, Reaction Unit SA (Rusa) head Prem Balram and his team arrested Ramith Aneerudh, 37, and his two alleged accomplices in Coffee Bay in the Eastern Cape.
Balram told the POST that they travelled more than 600km, in rugged terrain, after receiving a tip-off that the suspects were there.
They are wanted for the attempted murder of Sarika Bridgmohan, 33. They are also facing charges of theft and kidnapping.
The Rusa team first arrested Kyle Clayton Goldstone, a woman believed to be his girlfriend, and the unnamed accomplice at around 5.30pm.
They then hunted down Aneerudh a short while later, who was hiding in a house.
Bridgmohan’s vehicle was recovered in Umzinto on Monday by Rusa.
In an interview this week, Bridgmohan alleged she had been kidnapped, strangled with a rope and left presumed dead, allegedly by her husband and his two accomplices.
She said one of the men was on his way to “dump my body” in a sugar cane field on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast when she unlocked the car door and jumped from the moving vehicle.
She alleged her husband had orchestrated the attack so he could gain access to her bank account, vehicle and jewellery.
Bridgmohan said she was living in fear of her life, as her alleged killers were still on the run – a month after the alleged incident.
Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said a case had been registered at the eManzimtoti police station.
Bridgmohan engaged the services of Rusa to help track the alleged suspects, after she received “threatening calls” at the weekend.
“A woman kept calling me from different numbers. She told me she was ‘coming after me’ and that she was going to ‘cut my neck, chop my head and eat me’. I had given the police the numbers, but when they called, the numbers went to voicemail.
“For the past month, I have had sleepless nights and I am terrified that they are going to come after me and finish off what they started. They thought I was dead and now I am getting these calls,” she said.
Bridgmohan said on March 13, while holidaying at a hotel with her husband, he had told her he was buying them an apartment in uMhlanga.
“He told me his friend had offered him a great deal for one of his newly-built apartments in uMhlanga. He had taken me to see the apartment last year. He told me his friend had told him to fetch paperwork from an attorney and bring it to him, then we would get the key to the apartment. I didn’t think anything of it and went with him,” she said.
She said they checked out of the hotel at around midday, and left to meet the attorney at his office in eManzimtoti.
“Instead of going to the lawyer’s office, he drove to a secluded area. I asked him where we were going and he said the attorney was going to meet him on the roadside as he was going on holiday.
“He then stopped in a quiet area behind an Opel Corsa. There was a man standing outside the vehicle. At the time, I still didn’t think anything of it. He then jumped out and said to the man, ‘Kyle, here is your money’.
“Kyle then approached me and told me to get out of the car. He said he needed to talk to me. I questioned what was going on. My husband then reached into the car and pulled my cellphone from my hand and my handbag, which he put on his shoulder.
“He asked if I had sent my location to anyone and I told him I did not. That is when Kyle opened the car door and pulled me out – by my hair. I was trying to fight him off. I was on the ground when I saw another guy approaching with a rope, which they used to try and strangle me.
“I was screaming for help, but my husband was busy scrolling through my phone, and without looking at me, he said, ‘make it fast’. I don’t remember anything else as I must have passed out,” she said.
Bridgmohan said when she regained consciousness, she was lying flat in the passenger seat of the Opel Corsa with the seat belt strapped across her.
“I managed to lift myself up and when I looked out the window, we were parked in a sugar cane field. I later learnt the area was Ifafa. I asked the man who was sitting in the driver’s side what was going on. He only said, ‘your husband paid us to kill you’. He then phoned my husband and told him I was awake.
“I begged Kyle to let me go. I asked him if it was money he wanted. He seemed very frustrated. Kyle made another call to my husband and said he needed fuel and cigarettes.
“Ramith then sent him an e-wallet of R300 from my phone. We then left the sugar cane field for Kyle to go and buy cigarettes. He told me that Ifafa was his hometown and that I should not try to signal anyone,” she said.
Bridgmohan said while driving, she saw three men walking on the road.
“I knew I had to get help. I saw that Kyle was distracted as he was on the phone, so I unclipped the seatbelt, opened the door and jumped out.
“I don’t know where I got the strength from, but I managed to wake up and run to the men. I hugged one of them and told them to help me as that man was trying to kill me. The man had stopped the car and ran towards me.
“At that time, a woman drove up to the men. She was their employer. I pleaded with her and her mother, who was in the vehicle, to help me.
“The man came up to them and said he was helping me. Thankfully, they didn’t believe him and took me with them. I contacted my family and I was taken to the doctor. I sustained multiple injuries to my head and body, which I am still recovering from.”
Bridgmohan said she later learnt that more than R40 000 was withdrawn from her bank account and credit card.
She alleged her husband had also taken her car and jewellery.
“I believe this was the motive to kill me. I thank God every day for saving me and I am grateful to be alive. But I will only be at peace once they are behind bars.”