By Masood Boomgaard
Startling revelations that the Merebank businessman accused of faking his own death was an avid gambler with a penchant for roulette and poker, betting up to R50 000 a game, emerged in the Pinetown magistrate's court.
Sundraganen Chetty and his cousin, Dayalan Reddy, stand accused of the murder of 60-year-old Bharath Lutchman, whose charred body was found in Chetty's Nissan clubcab bakkie on October 7. They appeared in court on a bail application.
Both have been charged with murder and defeating the ends of justice. The magistrate adjourned the bail application until Monday.
The two co-accused appeared tired in court following a week in police custody
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The gallery was noisy throughout the day's proceedings and police and court security struggled to maintain order.
Family and friends of Lutchman were heard taunting the two accused.
Some had to be removed from the court by police during the many interruptions in Advocate Ray Naidoo's plea for the release of his client, Chetty, on bail and his questioning of investigating officer Inspector Ramesh Ramdeen.
In his presentation of evidence during the hearing, Ramdeen described the events leading to the arrest of Chetty and Reddy and how the pair had allegedly attempted to fake Chetty's death.
He also provided character insight into Chetty, saying investigations had revealed that he was an avid gambler with a liking for roulette and poker.
Ramdeen said it was not uncommon for Chetty to bet up to R50 000 on a game of poker.
He said further investigations had revealed that despite assets amounting to R7-million, Chetty's butchery, which at one time had an annual turnover of R19-million, had reported losses of R30 000 a month over.
Ramdeen said the pressures of Chetty's financial situation had contributed to his carrying out the alleged murder.
"It is the state's view that the accused acted in a premeditated fashion to commit this heinous crime solely on the basis of financial enrichment," Ramdeen said.
Ramdeen said there was also evidence that Chetty had updated his life insurance policy to double its value prior to his "fake death", and that a broker had lodged a telephonic application for the payout of various insurance policies on the instruction of Chetty's family a day after he was presumed to be dead.
Arguing against bail, Ramdeen told the court that releasing the men would present a safety risk.
He said angry members of the Merebank community had tried to burn down Chetty's butchery but had been pacified by a local councillor.
It was also argued that there was a possibility of the accused interfering with witnesses or not returning to court.
However Chetty's attorney, Ryan Naidu, dismissed the state's claims, arguing that Chetty did not pose a flight risk, nor did he know who the state's witnesses were.
Reddy's advocate, Murray Pitman, said his client had co-operated with police and handed himself over to authorities.
The bail application will continue on Monday.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of Tribune on October 26, 2008
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