Community members of Belhar were left shocked following the gruesome discovery of a man whose legs were severed from his body.
The unidentified man was found on a pavement, wrapped in a blanket near an open field along Erica Drive yesterday morning.
While emergency services believe the deceased was a victim of a motor accident, police suspect murder, and say the man had been stabbed to death and both his legs were cut off at the knees.
One leg was found wedged underneath his body, and the other a few metres away.
According to Ismail Arnold from the Belhar Community Police Forum, school children notified a traffic officer who was busy assisting them over the pedestrian crossing of the busy road.
An official from the Emergency Medical Services said it was a coloured male, between the ages of 50 and 55 years old.
“We suspect it could be a motor vehicle accident, someone knocked him over and dragged the body for a while and then discovered the body underneath the vehicle. We have seen this many occasions.
“There is no blood on the road so it is probably not here, so whoever just decided to come and dump the body here.
“Both legs are amputated, one is lying on the pavement and the other one is still underneath the body.
“It is difficult to say if it was a murder because of the broken up body because anything is possible.”
However, police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk says: “Belhar Police are investigating a murder case after a leg of an unidentified person was discovered by a passer-by who immediately informed police (yesterday) morning, lying on the pavement at the mentioned address.”
“Members immediately responded and on further investigation, the body of an unidentified male with multiple stab wounds was found on an open field next to Erica Drive.
“It is confirmed that both legs of the deceased were chopped off below the knees.”