The Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) yesterday called on members of the business community to establish and contribute to a ‘Wanted’ fund, in an effort to encourage members of the public to disclose information on the whereabouts of suspects and wanted criminals.

The organisation also joined with other organisations in expressing shock and revulsion over last week’s abduction of Non Pariel taxi driver Vivickanan Nandalall, but said it was unwise to pay ransom to the perpetrators, since the practice would only encourage the criminals.

Nandalall’s relatives, on Saturday morning paid $1M ransom for his release, but up to late last night the kidnappers had still not released him. IAC executive member Evan Radhay Persaud Misra met with Nandalall’s relatives yesterday at their home at Non Pariel and was pleased to learn “of the diligent attempts made to date by the Guyana Police Force in trying to solve this case”.

However, the organisation, through a release, said the Guyana Police Force must, at all times, give clear direction to the families of whom the demands are made, with the supreme objectives of capturing the perpetrators.

“The IAC firmly believes that the families of the victims should never attempt to solve these crimes by themselves since this was the domain of the Anti Kidnapping Unit of the Guyana Police Force whose officers are trained to deal with such emergencies. The IAC firmly believes also that it is unwise to pay ransom to the evil perpetrators of these heinous crimes as this perverse practice can only encourage these vile criminal elements to abduct more law abiding citizens which has happened in Trinidad and Tobago, a sister Caricom nation now plagued by an escalation of abductions.”

The body is calling on members of the business community, especially the Indo-Guyanese and mixed Indo-Guyanese members, many of whom it said have been victimised or traumatised by “politically driven criminal elements” during the 2002/2003 crime wave, to be on their guard, to be wiser, to be more alert, to be more vigilant, and to be more security conscious regarding their person and their businesses.

The IAC is also urging members of the community policing group members to be more proactive and to work even more closely with the law enforcement agencies in suppressing crime.