The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The brother of a 30-year-old driver from Dagana, who was detained by the police in connection to a battery case, has alleged that the police were not fair enough in the case.
On 12th March at around 9:30 pm, the driver initially had a verbal argument with an open air inmate in one of the bars, after which a fight broke out between them.
The brother claims that his driver brother had punched the inmate in self-defense as the inmate was trying to hit his brother with a wooden plank. However, a friend of the driver managed to stop the fight.
“My brother, after the fight at the bar, went towards his labour camp with his friends. He saw that a camp door of the plumber was latched from outside with DeSuups locked inside shouting out and trying to unlock the door. The DeSuups probably thought my brother had locked the door. The tension escalated and they had a verbal argument.”
The verbal argument then escalated into a fight between the DeSuups and the driver and his friends. The police were then informed, after which they were taken to the police station for further investigation.
However, “Upon reaching near the police station, one of the inmates who was standing a few meters away from them shouted at them, asking who had battered his inmate friend earlier. A large group of inmates went to my brother, and then battered my brother in front of the police that included two officers,” he added.
He alleged that the inmates also battered his brother’s friend who was trying to escape, and in the process his Bolero was damaged as it was hit with around 9 stones. He questioned why the inmates are allowed to go outside at odd hours to drink at the bars.
He said, “What were they (police) doing when the inmates were battering my brother and his friend. Nine drivers including my brother were taken into custody the same night, but the inmates were put under detention only two days later. Why is that? And the case was lodged against my brother which isn’t fair.”
He further questioned, “Why is the police is not taking a fair action, especially when everyone involved in a case are equally to be blamed? Why is my brother and his friend kept under detention when seven of their other friends (drivers) were sent on bail after four days in detention?”
He claims that his brother suffered multiple injuries all over his body. His friend requested the police to take him for follow up medical treatment since his ear was injured severely, however, they refused to take him.
An eyewitness shared, “The inmate first brought a plank and hit the driver after a verbal argument. I separated them, and we went to our camp. From a locked room we heard a group of people shouting at us. At first, we did not know they were DeSuups. We did not realize who has hit whom in the dark”
He said they were in their camp when three police personnel asking who has battered the DeSuup. They were then taken to police station, he added.
There, he said that they witnessed the inmates coming directly to them and battering two of them.
However, another source said that it was in fact the group of drivers who acted wild at the camp and beat up the DeSuup.
Meanwhile, the police and a senior DeSuung official both said that it is too early for them to comment on the case as it is under investigation.
