Crime: On October 25, Thimphu police received a complaint that two men, one armed with a knife, were looking for a shop owner at the Centenary Farmers Market (CFM) and were threatening to kill the owner.

The men had fled when a police team reached the site. When the team was questioning shop owners, the city police station received another complaint that two men with a weapon were chasing a parking fee collector near Changlam Plaza in Thimphu.

A police official said that the fee collector ran inside a grocery shop for safety. The men followed him inside the shop and then broke a donation box and a keyboard in the shop. However, no one was injured.

Police arrested the two suspects, an 18-year-old from Samtse and a 26-year-old from Punakha, the following day.

Both the suspects confessed to the crime. A khukuri knife was also seized from the men. The prime suspect told police that a sales boy in the shop located at the CFM always teases him and that angered him. “He said he wanted to settle things with the sales boy so he went to the shop,” the official said.

The official added that the 26-year-old man who is the prime suspect was also found to have been involved in a stabbing case that occurred on October 22. The man works as a sales boy in a shop in Thimphu.

According to police, a group of Indian bikers were hanging out in front of Mojo Park in Thimphu at around 1am. While the two men who were passing by, one stabbed one of the Indian nationals in the back.

The case was reported late to police and by the time a police investigation team reached the site, the suspects had left.

The official said that the two suspects were identified through CCTV footage.

Another 23-year-old man from Samtse, who was also working as a sales boy was arrested on October 26, for having been involved in the stabbing.

The men also confessed that they were under the influence of alcohol when the incident occurred.

The victim has left for India.

The official said that the men would be charged for display of weapon. “We may charge them for harassment as well because their act caused the people emotional distress.”

Dechen Tshomo