THE case file addressing the alleged threat made by publisher of Kaieteur News, Mr. Glenn Lall, to the Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Mr. Khurshid Sattaur, is still with the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) completed its investigations into the alleged threat some two weeks ago, and the file was initially sent to the DPP Chambers on October 14, before being returned to Crime Chief Mr. Leslie James on October 15. He has since returned it to the DPP, Mrs. Shalimar Ali-Hack, for her recommendations.

The investigations followed a formal complaint made by the GRA Commissioner-General, and lodged at the Brickdam Police Station regarding an alleged threat from Lall.

LALL INVOLVED IN KILLING
Sattaur has since gone on record indicating that he fears for his life, particularly given Lall’s involvement in the 1994 killing of 30-year-old Kenny France.

According to the Stabroek News, which reported extensively on the killing, Lall, a well-known stall-holder at the Stabroek Market and then rural constable with the police force, shot France in the chest at close range with a .38 revolver on January 20, 1994.
Reports are that France’s step-son, Oliver Marshall, was wanted by the police in connection with a robbery committed at Lall’s home. On the day of the killing, Lall, using his position as a rural constable, went to France’s McDoom residence to arrest Marshall, where he was met with strong resistance by the lad’s relatives.

The Stabroek News article said police information indicated there was a scuffle between Lall and Marshall, at which time the shot was fired and France was hit.

“We have information to suggest that the two were engaged in a scuffle before the shot was fired. It was not a cold-blooded killing, as France’s relatives would want us to believe,” the police source had said in the February 2, 1994 report.

In the case of France’s death, there was no official inquest into the circumstances of his killing – an action that has left eyebrows raised and many interested parties dissatisfied.

The conclusions reached by the police were deemed “not good enough” by France’s relatives, who have since continued to refer to France’s death as an “extra-judicial” killing.

In line with Sattaur’s expressed fear, it was expected that Lall would lodge his licensed firearm with the police. Standard operating procedures in similar matters require the lodging of one’s firearm if the person making the alleged threat is a licensed firearm holder. However, it remains unclear whether or not Lall has so done.

SINCE AUGUST
The alleged threats to the GRA Head were made in late August, when two vehicles used by Lall and his wife and alleged to be part of a remigrant duty-free scam were impounded by the Authority.
At the time, Sattaur had disclosed that he had received a telephone call from a person “whose voice I recognised as Mr. Glenn Lall” and was threatened.

He said, “Lall called me from an overseas number and threatened to expose me; he threatened to deal with me in a manner as if I’m a thief, and he’s going to do this thing because I am using my office to deal with the matters I normally deal with.

“He threatened to use his newspaper to expose me; I don’t know what wrong I am doing. If I am trying to do the Government’s work, I don’t know why people should be upset. If they are doing wrong things, they should be subject to the laws as well.”
According to Sattaur, such actions, the making of threats, are unconscionable. “I am not acting vindictively; I am doing my work. Mr. Lall is not excluded from paying taxes,” the GRA Commissioner-General said.

The two vehicles in question, PRR 8398 and PRR 8399, were handed over to the GRA and impounded at that Authority’s warehouse following an hour-long standoff between GRA officials and Navin Sankar, a high-ranking GRA employee.

A total of six criminal charges have since been filed against Lall, his wife Bhena, and Sankar’s parents — Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan, who have all been implicated in the scam. Lall and his wife have since been arraigned on four of the six charges.

The charges follow an investigation which was launched to ensure that procedures and policy, as well as the provisions of the law, were adhered to.