Suspect arrested from Babesa on Tuesday

Rajesh Rai | Phuentsholing

Phuentsholing police in coordination with Thimphu police yesterday nabbed the suspect behind the gruesome murder of an Indian woman in one of the hotels at Goedoe Lam in Phuentsholing yesterday.

He was arrested at Babesa, Thimphu around 9:30pm on December 24.

The suspect has been identified as a 38-year-old man from Cooch Behar, India. On preliminary interrogation, the suspect confessed to committing the crime, Phuentsholing police confirmed.

The victim has been identified as a 31-year-old woman from Cooch Behar. She has been identified as the second wife of the suspect.

The suspect was tracked using the mobile number registered in the hotel’s guest registration book. Police sources confirmed that the suspect was in Thimphu for a work at a construction site. Prior to this, the suspect had also worked in constructions as a mason, carpenter, and a Thikadhar (labour contractor).

After the suspect was brought down to Phuentsholing, police also located the decapitated head of the woman. It was found from the Omchhu bank.

The superintendent of police in Phuentsholing, Colonel Namgay Dorji said the counterpart police across the border have been intimated to further inform the victim’s family.

Phuentsholing police officials said that a massive manhunt was carried out to catch the suspect.

On December 22, Phuentsholing police station received a complaint regarding a murder in a hotel at lower market of the border town. The investigation team found the body of a middle age woman inside the toilet of hotel room.

As per the hotel management, the couple had checked in the hotel on December 12 and changed the room on December 13. It was learnt that the suspect and the victim stayed in the hotel until December 18 and made payments for the room charges daily in cash.

After finding out that the guests did not pay room charges from December 19-22, the hotel management had sent a waiter to check at 11am on December 22. The waiter found the room was locked and then took spare key and opened the door. The headless woman was found in the toilet.

Although details in the guest book were not clear, the book had a Tashi-Cell number and the next destination registered as Thimphu.

The hotel’s CCTV footage also revealed the suspect leaving the room on December 19.

CCTV footage of the hotel showed the suspect coming out of the room empty-handed at first and took a cup of tea and around 1:40pm that same day, the suspect sneaked out with two bags with him when no one was around. Inside the room, a chopping knife was also discovered under the mattress.

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