ADMINISTRATIVE Manager of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Wylock Sahadeo, was on Tuesday afternoon briefly hospitalised after the back of his head was grazed by a bullet fired by a fleeing bandit.

The incident occurred in the compound of NAREI at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.
The Guyana Chronicle was informed that the senior manager along with several other personnel from the facility were heading to check a building in the compound from where it was reported strange sounds were emanating. The building is occupied by a senior agriculturalist and his family, who were not at home at the time of the incident.

Speaking with this publication on Tuesday afternoon in the compound, Chief Executive Officer of NAREI, Dr. Oudho Homenauth said that over the past two weeks, persons who reside on the premises have been reporting that their homes were being broken into and articles being stolen.
One official reportedly lost a firearm from his home recently and that matter has been reported to the police and is still being investigated.
According to Dr. Homenauth, persons have been observing that houses which have been abandoned for several years had missing louvres replaced and blinds put up, even in the absence of documentation by the administration of the institution that the building was assigned to anyone.
He said that this spoke of one thing only, that is, that persons who have been breaking the homes of residents on the premises were concealing themselves in the abandoned houses, monitoring the movements of individuals and would usually break into their homes when they are not at home.
This was further supported by the fact that yesterday three bandits were able to make their way into the home of a resident seconds after the last occupant of the home had left the building, even as security guards which are posted to the rear of the compound did not report any instance of person(s) trespassing.
On Tuesday while one resident was at home in her apartment she heard a noise coming from another building and hurried over to the administration building to enquire if permission had been given for workers to be present in the compound to carry out works on any of the buildings.
By the time the team approached to check on the report, the men had already made their way to the home of another resident; after checking the building from which the noise was initially coming, the officials made their way to the house where three bandits were present, but that was not known to the officials until a young lady saw movements in the building and raised an alarm. This resulted in the bandit discharging a round which hit the administrative officer.
The bandits who had gained entry to the building by removing several louvres close to the back stairs then rushed out of the house and made good their escape. The police arrived shortly and went in pursuit of them but to no avail.
The recent incidents have reportedly left residents on the premises in shock, as the administration makes arrangements to beef up security at the institution even further.
***Photos saved in graphics folder as Leroy NARI robbery

(By Leroy Smith)
Photos By Leroy Smith