South Bureau

At the end of a narrow gravel track in an abandoned canefield, the van belonging to missing 73-year-old businessman Eric Sooklal was found yesterday. The cab of the vehicle was torched, police said.

Before it was removed to the San Fernando Police Station, the green and silver coloured van was dusted for clues.

Sooklal was reported missing by his relatives on Wednesday night.

Police said the elderly man was headed to his businessplace, Sooklal’s Enterprises, at Duncan Village, La Romaine, to feed his dogs.

He lives with family at Roberts Road, Philippine.

His nephew Partap Singh said they received a call yesterday that his uncle’s Mitsubishi van was found in a canefield.

At the family’s home relatives were reluctant to speak about the incident. ’We were instructed by the police not to give out any information, since it might hinder the investigations,’ a relative said.

The relative said Sooklal’s children lived in the Unites States and were expected to return this morning.

No ransom calls have been made to the family, police said.

Officers from the San Fernando CID and the Anti-Kidnapping Squad are continuing investigations.