Thimphu police arrested five boys aged between 13 and 18 years for robbery on September 21.

The incident happened on the same day when the complainant, a 42-year-old man was with a friend in a car at a place called Langtagsa, near Khasadrapchu in Thimphu when one of the boys pelted stones and broke the car’s glass.

According to the complainant’s statement to police, when he got out of the car, four more boys showed up and surrounded him. They robbed them off Nu 4,000 and his cell phone. They also snatched his car keys.

A police official said the man managed to escape after which he called the police from a mobile phone belonging to a labourer at the labour camp around 5:30pm.

“When the man was trying to escape, he managed to grab a mobile phone belonging to one of the boys,” the official said. This helped in arresting some of the suspects.

The official said police personnel from Babesa community police station and city police station rushed to the crime scene where they arrested some of the boys who were near the crime scene.

Police recovered the belongings of the man from the suspects who are all students.

On further investigation, police found that the suspects were also involved in three similar cases that occurred in the same area.

The first case was reported to police in May, last year. In all three cases, the car was damaged and the complainants were robbed of Nu 13,000 and three cell phones.

Prior to the recent reported case, the official said police had carried out a search operation for weeks by deploying more than 20 police personnel in the area. He said the area was vast and was difficult to rule out any suspect.

“The suspects confessed of having involved in all four cases,” the official said.

“It is likely that many such incidents have not been reported to police,” the official said. “People should understand that it is not safe to be in secluded places at odd hours.”

Dechen Tshomo