Flying squad cop laid to rest

Warrant Officer Ashok Ramsakkan is laid to rest on Wednesday.

Warrant Officer Ashok Ramsakkan is laid to rest on Wednesday.

Published Nov 25, 2015

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Durban - Wednesday afternoon, as Warrant Officer Ashok Ramsakkan is laid to rest and police officers from around the city pay their last respects to a dedicated colleague, his family will say goodbye to a selfless father, husband and role model.

Ramsakkan was shot twice in the neck, while on patrol in KwaMashu, Sunday before last.

He spent eight days in hospital in a medically-induced coma, but on Monday he took a turn for the worse and the life support machines were switched off.

Despite the obvious risks associated with his job, Ramsakkan’s 25-year-old daughter, Yanita, said his death was the last thing the family had expected.

A veteran officer, Ramsakkan had confronted danger on a daily basis, but had always come out on top.

“We’re all shattered,” Yanita said, “Just completely and utterly shattered.”

An attorney and the older of Ramsakkan’s two children, Yanita said she would forever cherish each and every moment she had shared with her father, a family man who had always put the needs of those he loved before his own.

“He would come off night shift and he would be exhausted, but he would wake me up, prepare lunch for my brother and I, and see me off to work,” she said.

“And he wouldn’t go to sleep until he knew I had arrived at the office safely.”

One of several children, Ramsakkan had also treated his brothers’ and sisters’ children like his own, setting time aside to accompany them to the doctor and being there for them in their time of need.

“He was our family’s pillar of strength,” Yanita said.

His widow, Asha, was distraught. The couple had been married for 30 years.

“My mom knew him better than he knew himself and vice versa,” Yanita said.

“They were truly one another’s better halves and they didn’t go anywhere or do anything without each other.”

During the interview, Yanita spoke softly, wiping tears and leaning on a close relative for support, but when asked what qualities she most admired in her father, she replied with renewed strength in her voice.

“He had a zest for life, a passion. He was an incredible person and I will spend my life striving to be as much like him as I possibly can be.”

KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, on Tuesday extended heartfelt condolences to Ramsakkan’s family.

“You will be in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time of your lives.”.

Ngobeni also said police were confident that those responsible would be brought to book.

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