MURDER SCENE: Detectives start the search for the killers of Dr Pox Raghavjee, who was found near the Bhisho Stadium with bullet wounds to the head. Picture: MICHAEL PINYANA
GP shot in the head on lonely dirt road
By NTANDO MAKHUBU
A PROMINENT Eastern Cape doctor was shot dead execution-style on his way to his surgery yesterday.
Dr Pox Raghavjee, 60, was shot twice in the head on a deserted road near the Bhisho Stadium.
The King William’s Town GP’s half-naked body, dressed in white surgery pants, was slumped a few metres from his green Mercedes on the gravel road.
It was discovered by a patrolling police officer at around 10.30am – two hours after he left his Kaffrarian Heights home.
His wife understood he was on his way to his surgery in the town’s Cambridge Street – but he never reached it.
Detectives yesterday were combing the area for clues when a Dispatch team arrived on the scene.
The body of the victim, commonly known as “Dr Pox”, was still a few metres behind the blood-stained car.
Police would not speculate on the motive for Raghavjee’s murder but said they found his cellphone, his watch and R500 in cash at the scene, making robbery an unlikely motive.
Superintendent Sonwabile Nkosiyane, of the Bhisho Organised Crime Unit, told the Dispatch there were two bullet wounds – one behind his left jaw and another on his right temple.
“At this stage we do not know whether one was an entrance wound and another an exit wound.”
Nkosiyane added: “The fact that his car was there could also mean it was not a hijack attempt.”
The post-mortem examination was expected to be held today.
Police spokesperson Thozama Solani said Raghavjee was reported missing by his wife, who “panicked when he did not open up the surgery”.
“She reported him missing when he failed to answer his phone at 9.30am,” Solani said.
Yesterday, King William’s Town residents called for swift justice.
They described Raghavjee as a “respected and well-loved” citizen within the town’s community.
“For him to have died this way is very tragic,” said local Rotary president Gordon McCune.
“For someone who did so much for the community, who was so committed to his job and did his part for uplifting the underprivileged, it is tragic.”
One of the first non-white doctors to open a surgery in KWT, “Dr Pox” had lived there for at least 20 years.
He was an active member of the old Indian KWT’s boys’ club.
Eastern Cape Legislature chief operations officer Phakamile Hobongwana said he was shocked as he had known Raghavjee since he was a young boy.
“To kill a doctor whose service has touched thousands of young people, who has saved the lives of many people, is senseless,” he said, “an indication of the carnage that is creeping into a community known for its peace and stability.
“KWT cannot keep quiet at his passing away. We need to uproot the element which is beginning to rear its ugly head to save the lives of the people who mean the most to us.”
Local SA Medical Association spokesperson Dr Helmut Fritsche said: “We are all shocked as doctors and are calling on the police to swiftly investigate.
“If doctors are becoming targets, it’s no wonder so many are emigrating from South Africa.”
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