Murdered Indian origin bride’s family brands in-laws’ India school plan ‘PR stunt’

LONDON - The relatives of Anni Dewani, the Indian-origin bride who was killed during her honeymoon in Cape Town, have slammed her in-laws’ initiative to build a school in India using a fund set up in her memory, branding it as a “heartless” public relations stunt.

The appeal, set up after Anni’s death on November 13 last year, has reportedly raised 15,000 pounds so far.

Friends of Shrien Dewani, Anni’s husband who has been accused of conspiring to have his wife killed, have disclosed that his family hoped to build the school with the donations.

However, the Swedish-born bride’s relative described the project as a “PR campaign” to bolster Dewani’s tainted image.

The Telegraph quoted Ashok Hindocha, Anni’s uncle, as saying that her family was not consulted before Dewani’s family planned to use the money for building school, and added: “This fund is for both families, we are disappointed nobody told us it was going to be headline news.”

However, a member of Dewani’s family turned down the allegations saying that he fund was not a PR stunt, and that both families had supported it. He said that they had planed to use the fund for building a school in India, but it was only made public recently.

The couple was two weeks into their Cape Town honeymoon when the taxi they were in was hijacked in the Khayelitsha township by two men armed with guns.

Anni was shot dead by the robbers, but Shrien was released unharmed. (ANI)