Cape Town: The parents of murdered Anni Dewani will sue their accused son-in-law Shrien Dewani for not disclosing his bisexuality before marrying their daughter. Anni's parents Vinod and Nilam Hindocha said they intend to pursue the civil action in London whatever be the verdict. They may even seek compensation for the couple's lavish £200,000 wedding, which Hindocha said he had largely paid for.
Mr and Mrs Hindocha said they were unaware that Dewani, 34, was bisexual and slept with gay prostitutes until details of his secret sex life were revealed to a Cape Town court. Mr and Mrs Hindocha said they were being forced to break their two month silence after Shrien asked a court in Cape Town to dismiss the murder charge against him.
The millionaire businessman is said to have already packed his bags in the expectation that a judge will find in his favour over his claim that he should walk free because of a lack of evidence without being forced into the witness box and cross-examination. The trial is currently adjourned until December 8 to give Judge Jeanette Traverso time to decide whether to continue the trial or allow Dewani to walk free without having to take the witness stand.
Anni's father said he agreed to pay two thirds of the bill and will also ask for receipts from Mumbai to be disclosed to the court in London to prove how the money was spent. The five star hotel in India has already provided evidence of some receipts and the Hindocha family have engaged a top London lawyer to take up the legal action once criminal proceedings have concluded.
Nilam Hindocha, who is recovering from stomach cancer, said: “If I knew Shrien was gay or bisexual I would never have allowed Anni to get married.” The grief-stricken parents said they did not want to appear homophobic and believed sexuality shouldn't be used to define people, but were shocked when Dewani confessed to his secret life.
Anni's parents said they would struggle to find closure if they do not hear Shien giving evidence in court. Anni's parents are concerned that if Dewani is allowed to leave South Africa without personally accounting for what happened on the night of her murder, they will never achieve closure. Mrs Hindocha said: “Shrien must give evidence. He owes us that, particularly to Anni...We need the full story, not half the story. We have waited four years and were promised the whole story. But we have only got half of it...I want to know the truth and we have waited for Shrien to give us the answers we have been asking for. I want him to tell us the truth, the whole story. Sometimes we feel very depressed over the court case but we hope to get the truth. If she [the judge] ends the trial we will never know the truth from Shrien. We have waited so long for that and to hear from him. We have been fighting for justice. But we will be very disappointed if we don't hear from Shrien's mouth and he doesn't tell the truth.”
