Indian origin schoolboy murdered in South Africa

A 16-year-old Indian origin student was stabbed to death and his elder brother wounded after a confrontation in school, media reports said Monday.

While Dareshan Moodley was stabbed to death at Chatsworth, an area in Durban largely dominated by people of Indian origin, his 18-year-old brother Revarsheen is undergoing treatment in the city's R.K. Khan Hospital, the Daily News newspaper reported.

According to the boys' father Jayce Moodley, the whole matter had its roots in a recent incident in their school, Welebedene Secondary School, when another student struck Dareshan for speaking to his sister.

Dareshan had fought back but the other student pulled out a knife and stabbed him.

The father said he had reported the matter to school.

After attending a fair at Chatsworth Saturday night, the two brothers were on their way home early Sunday with some of their friends when a gang of youths attacked them.

The youth who had stabbed Dareshan was also in the gang, according to the report.

The brothers' friends rushed to the Moodleys' home and brought their father to the scene.

"Dareshan was lying on his back on the ground and I could not see his injuries. He was already dead," Jayce Moodley was quoted as saying.

"I felt his heart and he was gone. I closed his eyes. Revarsheen was across the road, struggling to breathe and moaning."

Visvin Reddy, the chairman of Chatsworth unit of the African National Congress, said he would be contacting the education minister of Kwazulu-Natal, Senzo Mchunu, to call for regular spot checks for knives in schools.

According to local education department statistics, three students have died in violence between students this year, while last year the figure was 22.