The Bhutanese Leading the way.
A terrible crime took place on 2nd March 2021 when an eight-year-old, class two boy heading home from school was raped by a 38-year-old Nima Dorji Sherpa of Tsirang.
The Tsirang Dzongkhag Court sentenced him to 16 years in prison for the crime on 3rd November 2021, but he served only 11 months of his time and then escaped from Chamgang Central Prison on the afternoon of 15th October 2022 while in the middle of a reformatory workshop session.
The mother of the victim said that to this day, she lives in fear of the convict taking revenge on her son or her, and she even fears if the escaped convict’s relatives may do something harmful to them. For the safety and privacy of the victim, this paper will not reveal his current location or school.
The mother said the police had launched an active manhunt for the escaped child rapist convict for a month after his escape, but then there was no news after that and the police also did not keep her informed.
The mother feels that it may be possible that the convict Nima could be hiding in Bhutan itself with the help of a family member, and she feels the police should question the wife more on his whereabouts.
Apart from not getting justice and fearing for the safety of her son and herself, another issue is that the escaped convict’s wife never paid the full compensation amount as she agreed to in court through a written agreement.
The Tsirang Dzongkhag Court had ordered for a compensation of Nu 366,918 to be paid of which only Nu 95,528 was paid by the wife to the victim.
“This barely covered the three months stay in Thimphu during which my son had to get treatment and extensive counseling as well as other expenditure,” said the mother.
The victim’s mother is a single mother who lost her husband when their son was only three years old, and he had been the only earning member. This makes the financial situation even more tough, but the mother has somehow been managing with odd jobs and some help from her aged parents.
The mother said that the wife of the escaped convict used to call her a lot during the trial, and even came with the convict’s brother and offered Nu 200,000 to withdraw the case.
“She (the escaped convict’s wife) said that my son does not have a father and so the convict would take care of his expenses. I told her that I want justice and not her money, and I even reported her attempt to bribe me to the court,” said the mother.
The wife stopped calling her once the convict escaped, and did not pay the remainder of the amount despite the court order and a signed agreement by the convicted child rapist’s wife, submitted to the court.
“I followed up with the Office of the Attorney for the compensation not being made, but there was no communication from them too,” she said.
She had approached two CSOs for help in Thimphu when her son was undergoing treatment and funds were running low but they turned her away saying they don’t deal with her son’s type of case. A CSO called Nazhoen Lamtoen stepped in to provide Nu 5,000 support and offered the mother a cook’s job too which she could not take at the time as her health was not well.
Apart from the issue of justice and unpaid compensation, the mother said that while her son is 12 years of age now and in a higher class he is still impacted deeply by the incident.
After the incident the boy suffered from severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
She said that due to the trauma and treatments, her son missed a whole year of school and could go only next year and he still suffered for two to three years. She said her son is still traumatized and his mental health is affected, and being older it sometimes manifests in anger of what he had to go through.
The mother said the boy had already lost his father around three years ago before the incident when the boy was five years old, and the loss of his father had already impacted him as the boy and the father were close.
The mother was trying to start a business with some savings, but once the pandemic struck, she thought it would be better to move back to her village in Tsirang with her son in 2021 and also enroll him in a school there.
The boy had just started attending school for a few weeks when the incident happened.
The Escape
According to Chamgang police, the convict was participating in a reformatory workshop program designed to prepare inmates for reintegration through vocational training and personal development. The multi-phase program includes treatment, socialization, and skills-building activities, and is part of Bhutan’s broader efforts to assist inmates in reintegrating into society after release.
While inmates under the program are still under supervision, the workshop sessions every now and then takes place outside the main prison blocks but within the jurisdiction of Chamgang, where security protocols are relatively relaxed compared to the inner facility.
Police sources said Nima managed to change out of his prison work uniform into civilian clothes, and slipped away unnoticed, exploiting the looser security measures during the outdoor session. The escape went undetected until it was too late to intercept him.
“While he was assigned to work outside the main gate within Chamgang’s boundary, he used the opportunity to flee. He had likely planned it in advance, waiting for the right moment during the program where movement is less restricted,” says an official from Chamgang prison.
The proximity of Bhutan’s porous border may have aided his flight. There are indications he may have already left the country, making the manhunt more complex.
Following the escape, the Chamgang prison authorities have taken swift steps to tighten security.
The OC Chamgang shared that CCTV surveillance has been expanded and upgraded within, around the workshop and perimeter zones and perimeter walls are being raised to reduce vulnerabilities.
Further, additional restrictions have been placed on movement during reformatory programs.
Despite intensified search efforts, the escapee has not yet been located. The RBP suspects that the escaped convict Nima Dorji Sherpa may be in hiding outside the country, which complicates the investigation. Nonetheless, efforts are still underway.
RBP is urging anyone with information to contact the nearest police station or call the toll-free number 113. Public cooperation is crucial in such case. The Bhutanese is publishing his picture so that if anybody within Bhutan or even outside sees him, they should report him to the local police.
The child rapist, Nima Dorji Sherpa, who is not known to the boy and the mother moved from Thimphu to Gelephu and then to Tsirang.
He is registered in his census records as a farmer, but he also took up private work in urban areas.
There is a Nu 50,000 reward from the RBP for any information that can lead to his arrest.
