Lira RCC Egole Lawrence (in a yellow shirt) meeting the business community (investors) in Lira city on Thursday. Photo by Frank Oyugi.
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Last Updated on: 25th March 2022, 12:00 pm
Police have so far recovered about five tonnes of the grains as an exhibit and are being kept at Lira Central Police Station.
By Frank Oyugi
Lira – March 25, 2022: Security in Lira city was on Thursday morning compelled to convene a meeting to quell down a situation between a Pakistani and an Indian investor that posed a security threat to the city authorities.
This stems from a complaint raised by Kubir Singh, an Indian national who has invested in oil-seed production in Lira city and claimed to have lost sunflowers worth five tonnes to thieves.
According to Kubir, the grains went missing from the store he is currently renting at the timber yard, Lira industrial area in Lira City East Division.
In his narration, Kubir says initially he did not know the suspects behind this burglary until he reported the case to Lira Central Police Station and he was assigned a police detective in the name of Richard Ojok.
He says upon the commencement of the investigations, police reviewed footage from the Closed-circuit Television (CCTV Camera) which revealed that trucks entered the store premise and ferried several tones of sunflower grains.
By the time of filing this story, detective Richard Ojok who is the lead investigator on the case has confirmed that so far three suspects have been apprehended.
They include one Hajji and Muhammad while two other principal suspects still at large are Moses Ojok and one broker only identified as Happy.
How the battle line was drawn between Pakistan and Indian business community.
Although he did not physically participate in this theft, Hajji Bahadan Khan of Khan East Enterprises which deals in oil-seed production found himself in the middle of this storm, why? The sunflower grains found their way to his store.
It has now emerged that Moses Ojok, the caretaker of the store rented by Kubir masterminded the theft of the grains and used a broker named Happy who sold it to Bandan and he picked his monies in full from the unsuspecting businessman.
A police investigation after reviewing the CCTV footage revealed that at least three trucks carried the grains to Banadan’s stores.
Police have so far recovered about five tonnes of the grains as an exhibit and are being kept at Lira Central Police Station.
Thursday’s meeting was attended by Lira Resident City Commissioner Lawrence Egole, his outgoing deputy Paul Eseru, Lira City Internal Security Officer Major Robert Okello, the officer in charge of operations at Lira CPS, Brian Karega, among others.
Among the steps taken by security to resolve the impasse was to open Bandana’s factory which was sealed off by the police as a scene of the crime.
“I am guiding that the police should break off the seal and allow the factory to operate, this premise is employing many of our children and they should not suffer because of the ongoing case, I am also asking the police to speed up the investigations and arrest the suspects even if they are under the ground,” RCC Egole asserted.
The RCC further appealed to both parties to seek a common ground and settle the issue without escalating tensions and warned that such a situation could become a security threat in Lira city.
Major Robert Okello, the Lira city internal security officer assured the Pakistan community that the whereabouts of the suspects who are still at large are known and security was closing down on them.
Sanjit Singh the leader of the Indian community in Lira and Ateeq Nawaz, the leader of the Pakistan community said it was the first time such an incident was happening and both called on the police to expedite investigations and apprehend the culprits.
