Indian-origin woman, Babita Deokaran, who provided information on PPE scam, killed in South Africa

A 53-year-old Indian-origin woman in South Africa has been killed allegedly for providing critical information about a multi-million-Dollar PPE fraud during COVID-19 lockdown in the country last year, prompting the authorities to launch a high-level investigation into the incident.

Johannesburg: A 53-year-old Indian-origin woman in South Africa has been killed allegedly for providing critical information about a multi-million-Dollar PPE fraud during COVID-19 lockdown in the country last year, prompting the authorities to launch a high-level investigation into the incident. Babita Deokaran, who was a senior official at the Gauteng provincial Department of Health, was shot multiple times through her car door when she returned home in a Johannesburg suburb after dropping her child at school on Tuesday. She was rushed to hospital but succumbed to her injuries. A high-level investigation has been launched into the killing of Deokaran, who had provided critical information regarding a more than 330 million rand (over USD 20 million) fraud into the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa last year.