President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday morning met the mother of kidnap victim Vivekanand Nandalall and undertook to further assist the family.

Nandalall, 20, of Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara, disappeared on October 16, after the dispatcher of a taxi service asked him to pick up a passenger on the Enterprise, East Coast Demerara access road.

According to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) yesterday, Mrs Nandalall and other relatives met the Head of State in a closed-door session at the Office of the President. Afterwards, she said that the President was “very receptive and sympathetic to the family and promised to assist wherever possible”.

GINA further quoted the woman as saying: “the President said he would try his best to help us. He said he already sent out some police to Brushe Dam, because I came with that information.”

According to the release, the woman though appreciative of President Jagdeo’s gesture still feels her loss immensely, since there has been no word on her son’s whereabouts.

A $5 million ransom demand was initially made for the young man, but was later reduced. Nandalall’s relatives had raised the $1 million, which was dropped off on the Enterprise access road early on the morning of October 18. Since then the kidnappers have ceased communication with the family.

A week after he disappeared, Nandalall’s parents Ramdeo and Priya Nandalall returned to Guyana and launched a fresh appeal for the return of their only son.

Nandalall was last seen wearing a pair of blue jeans, a grey ‘Nike’ T-shirt, a black cap and a pair of slippers. However, the footwear was recovered the morning after he disappeared in his car, PGG 3846, which was found abandoned on the railway embankment at Annandale.

Immediately after reports of the abduction, the police engaged over 50 ranks from their Anti-kidnapping Unit, Tactical Services Unit, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Anti-crime Unit and launched a massive search for the young man.

Several areas in Buxton, Friendship, Bare Root and Paradise were searched and bulletins were issued for Albert Andrews aka ‘Doney’, Roger Bunbury aka ‘Don Dick’, Marvin Archer aka Marvin Peters or ‘Skittle’, Royston Peters and Rondell Rollins aka ‘Fine Man’, all of whom, the police believe, are hiding out in Buxton and the surrounding areas.