Tshering Palden

Bhutanese believe that on Nenpa Guzom (meeting of nine evils), good deeds merit no karmic benefit, nor do bad deeds earn sin.

In Bidung, Trashigang, some people apparently took advantage of the belief and stole the gewog’s JICA-donated 21-inch colour TV on the night of Nenpa Guzom, January 4, from the gup’s office.

the gup’s wife, Karma Wangzom, discovered the theft only on the afternoon of the next day. “Both doors of the hall had been forced open and the TV was gone,” she said.

There were villagers gathered that day for their annual census at the office. “I was preoccupied with receiving guests and totally forgot to check on it,” she added.

The TV was kept in the gewog’s meeting hall, adjacent to the gup’s residence near the gup’s office, where children and elders gathered during the day to watch TV.

the gup, Karma, and his family were at the archery range on the day and returned home at around 9 pm.

They watched TV in their house, which shares a connection with the missing television. The gup’s wife said that the thieves (since the TV was too heavy to be taken by one person) must have broken in after they went to sleep.

“They couldn’t have done it before we came home because the television connection was okay when we switched it on to check the time,” she said. “It must have been taken while we were asleep.”

Neighbours said that they heard noises from the direction of the TV hall at about eight in the evening, but they did not suspect someone could be attempting to take it away. “I thought it was someone inside the kitchen. It never struck me that someone could be stealing public property,” said a neighbour.

Villagers said that it could be the work of some miscreants in the village. “They knew that the door could be pushed open. someone from outside wouldn’t guess that,” said a villager at the meeting.

The case was reported to the police immediately.