Plea to find missing man

SIX weeks ago, a Pietermaritzburg man travelled with a friend to Durban. While the friend returned home the next day after having visited his son, the family of Deenadayalan Anand Sivalingam, 68, of Copesville, are still trying to find him.

Pamela Thaver, Sivalingam’s niece, said: “We want to know if he is safe, or even if he has passed on. Then we will have some closure. My mum and her sisters have not been able to sleep properly, not knowing where he is. We cannot tell my grandmother, who is 93, as we don’t know what impact it would have on her.

“This Thursday will mark six weeks since my uncle has been missing. Our family and community members have combed the entire Pietermaritzburg area, even hospitals and parks, and spoke to vagrants, but nobody has seen him. We pray someone can help us.”

Thaver said Sivalingam, who was unmarried and does not have children, lived in an RDP home with his friend of more than 30 years. She said her uncle accompanied another friend from the area to Durban on May 19.

“When my uncle did not return home the next day, the friend with whom he lived went to my aunt’s house to inform her.

“Our family then went to the man with whom he travelled for answers, but we were left with more questions.

“The man told us that they travelled to Durban in a taxi and then stopped at the Durban Bus Station. He said they got on the bus to go to Kenville where his son lived. But my uncle allegedly jumped off to use the toilet and never returned. He said he continued on the bus to see his son. This does not make sense to us. Our family in Durban have been assisting us by checking the hospitals and mortuaries.

“We hope someone has seen him or knows what happened. We need him back home or to get some closure."

Thaver said Sivalingam did not suffer from chronic health problems or mental illnesses.

Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo, a provincial police spokesperson, said a missing person’s docket was opened at the Mountain Rise police station.

If you have any information regarding Sivalingam's whereabouts, call the

police at 033 387 9634 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111. Alternatively, call Thaver at 084 207 3559 or his sister, Sushi Dev, at 083 390 6011.