Socialite in court over kidnapping
Wheels come off for chain boss after car deal goes sour
DURBAN businesswoman and socialite Rosanne Narandas appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Friday on charges of kidnapping.
Narandas, a clothing boutique chain boss, was arrested and charged at the Berea police station one day after a deal over a Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG with a Newcastle dealership turned sour.
Three men — Vishal Ramsander, Saeed Jamaloodeen and Zwai Nyembe — claim Narandas held them at her Musgrave flat on Thursday against their will after she cancelled the deal.
Narandas said the drama unfolded after her younger son, Rikesh, decided to buy the vehicle that was advertised by Value Vehicles in Newcastle.
Ramsander, accompanied by Jamaloodeen and Nyembe, met Narandas and her son at her Musgrave apartment to show them the car.
“Vishal told me that he was the owner of the vehicle. He gave me a copy of the logbook, which reflected that the car had been transferred to his name on 10 February 2014.”
Narandas said Ramsander assured her many times that he was the owner of the car.
“He said that the original owner was the dealership in Newcastle and the vehicle was first registered to them on November 12 2013.”
Narandas said she quizzed Ramsander about the 2 256km advertised mileage.
“I asked Vishal how it was possible to run up such a high mileage in such a short time. He said that the vehicle was a demo model and, according to the rules of Mercedes Benz, the demo models could only be sold off after a period of three months.”
Narandas claimed Ramsander said he would leave the vehicle with them and return the next week to complete the transfer. Narandas and Rikesh agreed to pay R680 000 for the car, and transferred the money by electronic transfer to an F Mahomed’s bank account.
I then locked the gate with a chain and padlock that had been left on the gate by a previous occupant of the apartment
She claimed she had reservations about the deal after Ramsander produced a delivery contract from Value Vehicles, which reflected the mileage as 4 547km.
“I asked him about this. He really could not explain himself. I informed Vishal that I wished to cancel the sale as he had misrepresented the facts — the present mileage was double that of the advertised mileage.”
According to Narandas, Ramsander offered to reduce the price by R5 000 after making a few phone calls.
“I said that all I wanted was a refund of my money. Vishal made more phone calls and a decision could not be made by him and the person with whom he was conversing. I then became suspicious as to the ownership of the vehicle. I started to wonder if they were trying to con me as Vishal was so adamant that the money had to be paid there and then.”
Narandas said she informed Ramsander she had to leave because she had to attend to business and would lock the car at her apartment until her
money was returned.
“I then locked the gate with a chain and padlock that had been left on the gate by a previous occupant of the apartment.
“I told the three men that I was holding the car and asked them more than once if they felt that I was holding them against their will. All three replied that they did not feel that I was holding them against their will — they just wished to resolve the issue. I told them if they wished to wait outside the gate, they could. They said they were fine.”
Narandas said the police arrived a while later and broke the padlock to her gate, and on Friday morning more officers arrived at her apartment to arrest her.
She made a brief appearance in court and was released on a warning.
Narandas will return to court in May.