A warrant of arrest may be issued for Durban businessman Rajiv Narandas after he failed to report to Westville Prison to serve his sentence for a 2008 murder.
|||Durban - A warrant of arrest is expected to be issued for Rajiv Narandas who, according to his mother, Rosanne, had undergone surgery on Thursday morning and was still in hospital.
Narandas was supposed to have reported to Westville Prison by 4pm on Wednesday to start serving his 15-year murder term.
But his mother told the Daily News today that her son was en route to prison on Tuesday when he stopped to see his doctor. His doctor told him he had to be admitted to hospital.
She did not say what was wrong with her son, but suggested it could be related to ulcers and hernias that he had suffered in the past.
She said his investigating officer and prison authorities had been notified.
Instructions were given to Narandas on Tuesday afternoon that he had 24 hours - from then - to hand himself over.
Last Wednesday Narandas was granted R100 000 bail in Johannesburg pending an application to be heard in the Constitutional Court. But the court rejected the application on Tuesday.
His lawyer, Cliff Alexander, said on Wednesday afternoon that he had been advised that Narandas had been hospitalised during the day.
“We have instructed him to report to the prison by 4pm, however,” Alexander said, “And I believe arrangements were made to transfer him, but I cannot confirm that.”
Alexander is dealing with another matter in Johannesburg at the moment but said he had forwarded a WhatsApp message to Narandas just after 4pm on Tuesday notifying him of the order.
However, Rosanne said she was under the impression that her son only had to report to prison 24 hours after they had received an e-mailed copy of the order from the court dismissing his application.
“I haven’t received anything yet,” she said just after 4pm on Wednesday.
In 2014, Narandas was found guilty of murder for stabbing Veenand Singh to death outside a Sandton nightclub in 2008.
Last year, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison. This was later reduced to 15.
He sought leave to appeal his conviction and sentence in the Concourt after the Supreme Court of Appeal refused this earlier in the year.
Narandas has often appeared unwell when at court appearances and on a number of occasions, his counsel has put on record that he suffered health problems.
Daily News
