Phurpa Lhamo | Wangdue

Farmers in Bjena gewog, Wangdue, have been losing their cattle for the past few years. Now with the recent arrest of six men, the mystery in the gewog might have been finally solved.

According to Tashi Tokha chiwog tshogpa, Rinchen Dhendup, almost 20 cattle were lost last year; increase from around 15 in 2019.

On February 2, Ap Bago lost a bull, that was kept near the suspect’s house on February 1 night. “In the morning, when I could not find the bull, I called the police.”

“He [the suspect] had told me to sell my bull to him. I refused to do so. That was two days ago.”

On February 2, following interrogation, Wangdue police arrested two men—both from Bjemizhung village in Tashi Tokha chiwog.

Ap Bago said that the police found his ox and two more on the same day the complaint was filed.

The suspects had sold the animals to a meat-shop owner in Bajo.

The meat shop owner and the driver returned the animals, which had reached a slaughter area in Tsirang by late February 2.

Further investigation also unveiled the cattle lifting cases in Bjenaloongpa Chiwog.

In 2018, 58 and 38-year-old men were arrested and sentenced to one month in prison for cattle lifting in Bjenaloongpa chiwog.

The same individuals were also arrested by Wangdue police for cattle lifting in January in the chiwog.

Although cattle lifting had been rampant in Tashi Tokha chiwog, no complaints were filed then, as there were no suspects.

The six men will be charged for larceny. The crime is graded value-based sentencing, which grades the crime depending on the value or the amount involved in the crime and measures it against the total amount of daily minimum national wage rate.