Advocate, ex-cop deny conspiring to murder financier
AN ADVOCATE who is alleged to have conspired to murder a Bluff money-lender has denied being involved in his death.
Taking the witness stand in the Durban High Court on Monday, Veronica Rathilal, 48, said she and the deceased, Narend Anandrai, had shared a good and “trust-based” relationship.
Rathilal denied owing any money to Anandrai, saying her job was to follow instructions from him and collect money owed to him by two of her co-accused.
Rathilal and her four co-accused, Chatsworth attorney Jayshree Baijnath, 43, businesswoman Shana Mangroo, 48, ex-policeman Dhanaseelan Manickam, 47, and businessman Rajendran “Trevor” Chetty, 48, are alleged by the State to have conspired to have Anandrai killed.
They have all pleaded not guilty.
Charges against two others were earlier withdrawn.
The accused were implicated after self-confessed hitman Gregory Pillay pleaded guilty to shooting Anandrai while he was seated in his Mercedes-Benz sports car in Havenside, Chatsworth, on March 18, 2014. The car burst into flames after hitting a wall.
According to the postmortem, the 47-year-old man died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
Pillay, who was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment in September 2014, claimed he was paid R20 000, and promised a further R100 000 after the job was done.
The State alleges that the motive for the murder was allegedly a non-payment of loans, in excess of R1 million, owed to Anandrai by Rathilal, Baijnath and Mangroo.
However Rathilal, who had worked for Legal Aid South Africa before leaving due to ill-health, denied owing him any money, saying that before his death she was tasked with recovering money owed by Baijnath and Mangroo.
“The deceased had given them (Baijnath and Mangroo) one week, between March 10 and March 18, to pay their monies outstanding. He instructed me to get in contact with both accused, and get the money. These were my instructions. I worked for him,” Rathilal told the court.
“The deceased also told me that Ashwin’s (Baijnath’s estranged husband) sister would be coming into the office to have a meeting regarding monies he owed, and that my job was to go sort out Accused 7 (Baijnath) and Accused 3 (Mangroo),” said Rathilal.
Rathilal was also quizzed by prosecutor Nadira Moosa about calls made and received from her cellphone to Manickam after Anandrai’s death.
“She (Baijnath) used to make calls to Accused 6 (Manickam),” she replied. “I can make unlimited calls with the cellphone, so she used to borrow my phone to phone her office, phone him. I don’t know him, and don’t wish to know him. And if he called it was probably to get in contact with Accused 7, as her phone must have been off.”
When questioned about her constant contact with Baijnath and Mangroo after the murder, Rathilal said she had been asked by the investigating officer to help him with the case.
“He had asked me to find out as much information so I could help him with case; you can even see on my WhatsApp. But the accused knew what and what not to tell, so unfortunately, I was not a very good spy.”
When asked why her salary of R100 000 a month was so high, Rathilal told the court that Anandrai could afford it.
Explaining a gap in payments, she said: “The money that the deceased got from loans, he said he would loan out again, and collect interest, and I would be paid. I was in no rush for money as whatever I required for the month, the deceased gave me.
“Also, he told me there would be a payment of R700 000 soon, and that I would take that money in respect of my salary.”
Moosa questioned an agreement drawn up between Rathilal, Mangroo and a third party for R1m, which had been deposited into her account.
“I did not borrow the money,” Rathilal replied. “He (Anandrai) told me that I would collect the interest of R200000, and would give him R100 000 and keep R100 000. He trusted me, that is why he deposited into my account so I could transfer it. We had a very close relationship.”
Yesterday, Manickam took to the stand and also denied having conspired with his co-accused to commit murder.