The former unit commander of the Hawks Organised Crime Unit in Cato Manor, Colonel Rajen Aiyer, is being investigated for allegedly assaulting a Greenwood Park woman.
The alleged assault took place at a nightclub where her son was injured.
Last Friday, Carol Francois and her family were celebrating a family reunion at the Just Jazzing nightclub in North Coast Road when her 21-year-old son, Nicoli, was involved in an altercation
He said, “I got to the bar and it was packed; so I asked the guy in front of me, who was at the bar, for space, but I think he misunderstood me.
“Someone tapped me on my left shoulder and as I turned back, I saw this guy pick up a tumbler and smash it in my face. The glass shattered on my face. There was blood everywhere. My family took me to hospital.”
Nicoli Francois, a student, suffered serious injuries to his face and head and had to have reconstructive surgery.
Chaos
His mother, a clothing group visual merchandiser, remained at the club to talk to the management and wait for the police, who she said took a long time to arrive.
Instead, she said, Aiyer – now assigned to the Provincial Evaluation Service – arrived.
“There was chaos at the scene, with blood everywhere, and I was very angry, demanding to know where the person was who attacked my son.
“I think he was whisked out of the club or hidden there, because we couldn’t find him. Then suddenly this guy arrives and tells us he is Colonel Aiyer and although off duty he is taking control.
“So I went to him to talk about what had happened, but he was rude and confrontational. He pulled my arm and pushed me away with a lot of force. I fell to the ground and was humiliated by the whole incident,” Francois said.
She said the family then decided to leave to check on her son’s condition at the hospital.
On Saturday morning, she tried to lay a charge on behalf of her son and herself, but was told her son had to do so in person.
She returned on Monday afternoon, after her son was discharged. He laid a charge of assault, while Francois laid a charge of assault against Aiyer.
“Fifteen minutes after I left the station, I got a call to say that Colonel Aiyer had been to the station to lay a counter-charge over the incident.
“Is it coincidence that he lays a charge after I did – three days after the incident? I can’t help but feel that he was told I was there opening the cases,” said Francois.
She said she was unhappy that almost a week after the incident took place the police had not assigned a detective to the case and no suspects had been arrested.
“Everyone knows who smashed the tumbler in my son’s face. And everyone there saw what happened to me. There are many witnesses. So I want to know why nothing has happened yet,” she said.
Attempts to obtain comment from Aiyer were not successful. There was no response to messages left for him.
Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane confirmed cases had been opened. He said no arrests had been made and police investigations were continuing.