Less than two months after students of the University of the West Indies (UWI) protested a lack of safety and security on campus, a female member of staff was abducted on campus yesterday.
The woman, 26-year-old commercialisation manager, Maria Dass-Supersad, of Lange Park, Chaguanas, was forced into a silver Nissan Tiida by armed assailants around 3 pm, as she was leaving the campus bookstore to pick up her six-year-old daughter from school.
Family members say they received a call from relatives who saw the incident take place, after which they alerted the authorities. Reports also claim the assailants fired at least one shot at the campus security while they were exiting the campus.
Maria Dass-Supersad
Shortly after the incident, Guardian Media Limited (GML) arrived on the scene where campus principal Brian Copeland and other members of staff were trying to help police officers with information.
Asked to comment on the matter, Copeland said, “It’s a police matter now. That’s all I can say.”
In a release last evening, however, Copeland said, “My thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time and we continue to lend our support to them. When incidents of crime happen on campus, concern for the victim is of paramount importance to us. The UWI senior administration team activates our systems to ensure that all necessary support is made available by the Campus to the persons affected. At the core of our efforts continues to be collaboration with members of our campus community, Campus Security and the TTPS.”
The victim’s brother, Roger Dass, could be heard expressing confusion over why anyone would go after his sister. He described her as a very kind but strict person without any enemies.
Roger was also a victim of kidnapping over 10 years ago when he, along with two friends, were assaulted and abducted in Chagaunas by someone known to them. They were, however, released on the same night they were taken.
Her mother and husband Vikash Supersad, who were consoling Dass’ six-year-old daughter after she learnt of her mother’s kidnapping, refused to speak with the media.
Speaking with Guardian Media even as police were busy trying to piece together what had occurred, Student Guild president Darrion Narine said students were now even more fearful for their security.
“Students are currently concerned about their safety and security and they wait to see what else will be done on campus and what additional systems will be put in place. The Guild has worked alongside the staff member and we are praying for both her and her family. It is always sad when good people fall victim to the dangers of crime and we need to do more not only as a community but also as a country,” he said.
“Everyone has a right to safety and security and we will continue to make our suggestions and lend assistance to the UWI team in any way that we can.”
Asked if he felt the incident could have been prevented if a more immediate response had been made by the administration to the security concerns raised by the guild recently, he replied, “No comment. Again I am just concerned about the victim. I don’t want to take away from the fact that we need to get her back safely. All other concerns will be addressed after this.”
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