Kidnap victim's mother: 'Maria walked 7 miles up a mountain in heels'

MARIA Dass-Supersad walked "seven miles up a mountain in heels" with her kidnappers before police rescued her last night, her mother told Newsday.

Radica Bisarmajeet, the mother of two, from Chaguanas, said the kidnappers did not harm Dass-Supersad.

Up to this afternoon, Bisarmajeet said she had not questioned her daughter about the ordeal. But she intends to do so later today when she visits Dass-Supersad, the mother of one, at her home in Port of Spain.

She said, “Last night there were many people at the hospital and she was unable to talk much about the incident. But they did not harm her.

"She does not know why someone would want to kidnap her and we don’t know why someone would want to kidnap her."

Dass, an administrative manager at the University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine, was leaving work shortly after 3 pm yesterday when two men snatched her at gunpoint in the carpark near the north gate of the campus. One was wearing a vest with the word “POLICE” and the other dressed in army gear. They shoved her into a white Tiida, bearing a fake registration number, and drove off.

But around 8.30 pm police rescued her at in Caura. She was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope and later discharged.

Police detained two men, who were in custody up to today.

Bisarmajeet said, “UWI needs to beef up its security, because it should not be that people can enter the compound, kidnap a person and just drive off."

The kidnappers reportedly demanded a $1 million ranson, but Dass-Supersad's mother said, "The point is, she does not have money."

She described her daughter as "a very loving, helpful and caring person. She has good karma. She is a very brave person and knows how to negotiate,”

Recalling the moment she heard Dass-Supersad had been kidnapped, Bisarmajeet said she immediately thought of Ria Sookdeo.

Sookdeo, of Raghoo Village in Debe, was abducted two years ago outside her children’s primary school after she dropped them off. She has never been found. Bisarmajeet said like Dass-Supersad is just as “pretty,” hence the thought.

Bisarmajeet rushed to UWI when she got the news.

“I did not believe it. I had to be there to see for myself. Many people and police were there. For me, everything stood still.

“I saw people around me going and coming doing their business. I felt like no one was feeling the pain I was feeling.”

She returned home at about 7 pm to find many people had gathered to support her. On checking social media, Bisarmajeet found other people, who included many strangers, were offering prayers for her daughter's safe return.

“I thank all of them. There were so many people who prayed for my daughter.

"I also want to thank Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith and his team for finding my daughter. Gary and his team were great.”