Durban - One of the murder accused of slain Overport student Kurtlee Pillay was on a drug- and alcohol-fuelled binge consuming cocaine, mandrax, cannabis and Rohypnol on the day of the incident.
This was the admission made by Blaine Raman, 20, in an affidavit in support of his bail application in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Friday when he appeared with fellow accused, Dinesh Nana, 21 and Bilal Tayob, 26.
The trio are being charged with premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit murder, hijacking and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
They are alleged to have lured Pillay, 20, to his death on the night of November 4, 2014, stabbing him multiple times and driving over him with his own car in Sherwood.
Raman's attorney, Anand Nepaul, told the court from an affidavit which he read out that Raman admitted consuming 1.5 bags of cocaine, 1 bag of cannabis, 8 Flunitrazepam tablets (commonly referred to as Rohypnol – a powerful drug used for insomnia), smoking mandrax and drinking 6 ciders on the day of the incident.
He also admitted being a regular cannabis user who was dependent on drugs from primary school.
Raman requested to be sent to Cedars Drug Rehabilitation and Treatment Centre instead of being incarcerated at Westville Prison. “I am desirous of undergoing drug rehabilitation at the said centre. This will help me become a better person and to prepare, understand and attend trial in a fit and proper condition. The premises are surrounded by an electric fence and are 5 kilometres away from the Dududu police station on the South Coast,” he said in the affidavit.
He also complained about the inhumane conditions he had to experience at prison.
“The cell in which I am in was designed for a maximum of 20 inmates. However, there are 10 single beds available and 36 persons occupying the cell. There are drug dealers in every cell and the majority of prisoners who share my cell are drug users.
“There are no proper working toilets and in order to flush one has to obtain a bucket filled with water in order to do so. The showers do not function. I clean myself using a bucket of water obtained from outside the cell. The cells have bugs, fleas and lice which have bitten me. These conditions are clearly degrading, inhumane, cruel and unconstitutional,” Raman claimed.
Fellow accused, Dinesh Nana, is also applying for bail.
He told the court in his affidavit that he admitted to having previous convictions which include possession of dagga, theft of a cellphone and violation of a protection order obtained by a previous girlfriend. He also has an attempted murder charge hanging over his head.
Tayob has not indicated yet if he is to launch a bail application.
The State submitted an affidavit from Warrant Officer Krishna “Monty” Naidoo opposing bail.
Naidoo, the investigating officer, said in his affidavit that Pillay’s blue VW Golf which went missing on the night he died was traced to Belmont Hotel, Tyzack Avenue, in the central business district on the morning of November 5.
Giving an account of how the men were apprehended, he said: “The police had received information from security guards at the hotel that they had found a blue VW Golf with no registration number, which had blood on it, in the hotel parking lot. While the police were attending to this, they received information from the guards that a description of the said males were loitering around the premises.
“The police proceeded in their direction and when the men noticed the police they began fleeing and started disposing of some of their clothing. The men were apprehended and several items which they tried disposing of were recovered.”
The bail application was part heard and is set to continue this week.
The men were remanded in custody.
Daily News