Brit-Indian honeymooner Shrien Dewani on 24-hour suicide watch

LONDON - Shrien Dewani, the Brit-Indian millionaire accused of conspiring to murder his wife Anni during their honeymoon in Cape Town, is reportedly on 24-hour suicide watch.

According to the Daily Express, Shrien is accompanied by a friend or family member at all times, and is not allowed to sleep alone.

Family friend Pankaj Pandya said that the 31-year-old is now a “shell of a man” and a “zombie” at his Bristol home where he is confined by bail.

“I visited Shrien with my wife to give him our support. I hugged him and we sat down and had a chat. He had lost a lot of weight and looked like a zombie,” Pandya said.

“I know there is concern in the family that he could feel the whole world is against him. I am sure there is a fear he could kill himself, so they make sure there is always somebody with him and that he doesn’t sleep on his own,” he added.

Shrien and Anni were 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 on November 13 last year.

The 28-year-old Anni was shot dead by the robbers, but Shrien was released unharmed.

Shrien was later arrested in the UK on suspicion of conspiring to have his wife killed.

The 31-year-old is due to appear in a British court for a preliminary extradition hearing on January 20.

His lawyers will argue that there is no proper evidence against him and that his case will be prejudiced in South Africa, where trials are conducted by a judge without a jury. (ANI)