SA man to care for murdered sister’s child

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The High Court in Pietermaritzburg granted Durban dentist Lingeswara Pillay permission on Tuesday to fetch his one-year-old nephew from India after his mother was murdered.

The boy's father confessed to Indian police that he strangled his wife, poured petrol over her body and set her alight in October. He is being held in an Indian prison.

The South African-born boy was taken to India by father and his mother (Pillay's sister) on a one-year visa which expires in July.

At the moment, he was in the care of his father's parents in India, and could be placed in institutional care when his visa expires.

Sundeep Singh, who represented Pillay and his parents, argued that a court could grant guardianship of the boy because his permanent home was in South Africa.

He argued that if the child's father was imprisoned, the environment would not be good for the boy's upbringing.

If he was found not guilty, Pillay and his parents would not prevent him from visiting his son in South Africa.

Judge Isaac Madondo Pillay ordered Pillay to pay the costs of fetching the boy. - Sapa