Suspects still at large

Crime: A man in his 60s, who is a resident of Trongsa reported to Phuentsholing police that he had lost his bag containing Nu 400,000, ATM cards, bills and other documents near a shopping centre in Jaigaon, where he had his vehicle parked, on July 9.

According to the man’s statement to police, an Indian national told the man that the back of his shirt was stained with bird droppings. The man felt some sort of powder was strewn on his back after which his body started to itch.

The man left his bag in the vehicle when he took off his shirt. The Indian national pointed at some cash on the ground and told the man that it fell from his pocket.

A police official said that as the man was busy collecting the cash, an accomplice of the suspect ran off with the bag.

CCTV (closed circuit television) cameras installed near the centre recorded the incident.

The official said that Phuentsholing police lodged a First Information Report (FIR) to the Jaigaon police station and asked their counterparts for assistance in arresting the suspects.

The Jaigaon police, from the CCTV footage, identified the three suspects involved in the crime. However, the suspects who are from Fatapukur in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, are still at large.

Another Bhutanese man was tricked in the same way and robbed off Nu 60,000 in Bahu Bazaar in Jaigaon on July 8.

The two men lost their mobile phones along with the cash.

The police official said that many Bhutanese have become victims of such miscreants since 2014, losing their valuables and cash when they are in the border town to shop.

“We would like our people to refrain from carrying huge amounts of cash to Jaigaon,” the official said.

The official added that there isn’t much difference in the prices of commodities of genuine quality for sale in Phuentsholing town from that of in Jaigaon.

Since the incident happened in Jaigaon, there is nothing much the Royal Bhutan Police can do then to seek Jaigaon police’s assistance, the official added.

“We can neither register the case in our office nor arrest the suspect even if we locate them,” the official said.

Dechen Tshomo