THOHOYANDOU – Indian business people in Thohoyandou and Sibasa have been astonished by the treatment they received from the police during a crackdown on alleged illegal immigrants by members of the South African Police on Wednesday.

It was reported that between 200 and 300 policemen had scrutinized the area, looking for documents from the people from Indian and Pakistani descent. According to several Indian businessmen, the police officers were “exceptionally rude and pushing us around.”

Mr Altaf Patel (34), of HV Supermarket in Sibasa, said that a group of po-licemen entered the premises, wanting to see his documents. “They emphasized that they wanted to see my passport, and when I told them that a person does not usually carry his passport with him, they wanted to take me to the police station.”

Mr Patel said the policemen were very aggressive and used abusive language towards him. “I told them that they could behave in a civilized manner and asked them what they wanted to prove with their extremely offensive be-havior.”

He stated that he has been a businessman in the area for 12 years and that everybody knew him. “I am part of the community; I am an honest taxpayer and a South African citizen. Why must they harass us? Look how many illegal immigrants are roaming around in the area, causing lots of problems in our communities,” he said.

He added that the whole Indian community is shocked about the incident and said that they would discuss it with the Area Commissioner of Police.

In reaction, the communication officer of the Vhembe Police, Capt Ailwei Mushavahanamadi, said the public always accused them of only arresting illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. He acknowledged that they were under pressure to look for illegal immigrants from other areas and that they had decided to look at people from Indian or Pakistani descent.

He added that three Pakistanis were arrested for being without the necessary documents, while one was arrested for assault on the police. He said, however, that they disapprove all incidents of harassment and bad behavior from the side of the police.