Kelzang Wangchuk 

Police in Trashiyangtse detained the recently elected Bumdeling gup for an alleged forgery case last week.

The 41-year-old gup availed a loan from one of the banks after forging documents. The accused was elected as a new gup during a bye-election in September this year.

According to sources, the gup availed a Nu 500,000 and another Nu 700,000 loan from Bhutan Development bank Limited (BDBL) on other’s lag thram (land ownership certificate) without an owner’s knowledge after forging the documents. “Both the loans were on the same lag thram.”

Sources said the BDBL took him to the district court in October after the gup failed to pay the loan installments for several months. The dzongkhag court found the forgery during its investigation. The court then dismissed the case.

The owner of the lag-thram reported the case to the police. Police then arrested the gup on December 4. The gup has confessed to the crime.

The gup was the former gewog clerk (geydrung). With the gup gone, there are possibilities of the gewog having three gups in five years should there be another round of bye-election.

However, the Trashiyangtse police are investigating the case.