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The online videos showing assault in the Paro club and street before the stabbing incident
Police are continuing their investigation into the 7th December 2025 stabbing incident in Paro, with one suspect, 20-year-old Kelden (commonly known as Gunda Kelden), still in custody. Another suspect, 19-year-old Dorji Ganzin, a rapper known as Cutie, was granted bail by the Paro District Court on 5th January 2026 but was taken into custody the same day in Thimphu in connection with a separate assault case.
Twelve others arrested in relation to the Paro incident have been released on bail. Police have said the case is still under investigation.
The 25-year-old victim, who had earlier been unable to speak due to the extent of his injuries, is now recovering after two surgeries. He suffered grievous injuries to his fingers, leg and multiple wounds all over his body.
He said he submitted a verbal and written statement to Paro Police on 31st December 2025 completing part of it at home due to difficulty in writing. During a recent visit to Paro Police Station, the victim said officers showed him CCTV footage that appeared to capture seven individuals stepping out of two vehicles, five from one and two from another, around the time of the incident.
He said he had no prior disputes with the individuals involved and had not expected any confrontation. Earlier, on the fateful night, the victim had gone to a collaborative music show in Paro. Before entering the venue, he met some youths from Paro and took photographs with them at a popular spot near the entrance of the club. Inside the club, he remained in a corner and was dancing to the music. He said Cutie, who was performing, briefly came down from the stage and greeted people, including him, with a fist bump. They knew each other but were not close.
Later, he witnessed a fight break out between youths from Paro and Kelden. He said he pulled back a few of the youths he knew to prevent them from getting involved. At the same time, Cutie was repeatedly calling for calm over the microphone. When the situation did not settle, Cutie came down to the dance floor to intervene. The victim said he approached Cutie and advised him to take Kelden away since the opposing group outnumbered him.
He denied claims of grabbing Cutie’s collar and said any contact was minimal. He said he was surprised when Cutie later announced his name on the microphone, saying he was “overdoing it,” which he felt was untrue. He then left the club. Outside, he met the youths that he had taken photos with earlier and advised them to go home. He then went to a nearby club with a friend. Feeling uneasy about the confusion inside, he tried contacting Cutie through Messenger. After several calls, Cutie picked up and later handed the phone to a mutual friend, who told the victim to go home and mentioned that police had arrived. Believing the misunderstanding had been resolved, the victim went briefly to the second club before deciding to head home due to the lack of crowd and his disturbed state from the earlier incident.
He offered to drop his friend home on his bike. He later learned that this friend had been involved in the earlier altercation, information he said he was unaware of at the time. As they walked back to where his bike was parked, the group ambushed them.
His friend ran immediately, warning him to run. The victim said he hesitated, believing the earlier misunderstanding had been resolved and that he had not been involved in the fight. He only started to run after seeing weapons. He said that if they approached him without weapons then he would not have any reason to run from them.
He ran toward a nearby hotel hoping people inside could help, but the glass door was locked. By then, he saw the group had reached him. He said he clearly saw the face of the first attacker, although he did not recognize his voice. The attacker was holding a weapon that the victim could not identify as either a knife or another object. When the attacker swung the weapon at him, he said he instinctively grabbed and held the attacker tightly in an attempt to protect himself.
At that moment, he said he saw Cutie and Kelden approach with knives. According to him, both then struck him on the head multiple times with knives. He said he remembers these three individuals distinctly as the ones directly involved in the assault. After being hit on the head, he lost his grip on the first attacker and fell to the ground. He recalled that Kelden then swung the knife at him again. In an effort to shield his head, he blocked the blow with his hands, resulting in the severe injuries and loss of fingers.
At the same time, he said Cutie struck his leg with the knife while shouting, “Choe jok jona,” meaning “you want to run.” He said he recognised Cutie by his voice. Throughout the attack, he said he remained conscious, although he was in extreme pain. He added that everything he recounted had also been included in his police statement. According to him, some of the individuals involved later claimed that only the three main attackers had assaulted him and that the others merely watched. He said this did not align with his experience, as he was certain that several individuals had chased him with the intention to attack.
He said he is fully confident that while Cutie and Kelden used knives and the first attacker had a weapon, others threw stones that struck his back, leg and right hand.
He recalled being struck repeatedly, not only with weapons but he was also kicked until his body began to feel numb. He said he could no longer feel pain, only the sensation of being hit. He said the attack continued for some time as he cried for help, shouting “Me say do,” meaning “person is being killed”, until two passersby, who he believes heard his calls, shouted at the group. Their intervention caused the attackers to flee. He said that without these passersby, the assault would likely have continued.
He also expressed his belief that the attackers may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs because of what he described as blind and uncontrolled behaviour. If they were not under any influence, he said, the incident would be even more troubling, as it would mean they were fully aware of their actions.
Following his second surgery, he visited the Paro Police Station on 31st December 2025 to give a verbal statement. With police permission, the victim later confronted the three alleged main attackers. He said they told him they had no personal grudge against him and that the attack was a “mistake.” He said this led him to believe that anyone in his place might have been attacked that night by them.
He also addressed rumours linking him to a viral video titled “Smogs got Smoked.” He denied any involvement, stating that if he had been part of that incident, he would not have been alone at the time of the attack. He also clarified that the earlier incident involving Cutie was unrelated to him, a point confirmed in front of Cutie’s mother at the police station.
An eyewitness who was present inside the club later told police that neither Cutie nor the victim was involved in the earlier fight inside, stating that others were responsible. The victim also stated that CCTV footage inside the club could verify that he was not involved in the fight.
The victim was bleeding heavily when the passersby called the police using his phone. Authorities arrived shortly afterward and rushed him to the hospital.
According to medical reports, the victim suffered severe injuries to his hands. His left index finger was completely severed and initially stitched back, while his right ring finger was partially attached and also repaired. The tip of his right middle finger was completely lost. After more than two weeks of observation, the stitched fingers did not recover and had to be partially amputated. He now retains half of his left index finger and half of his right ring finger. He also sustained 18 stitches on his leg from the knife attack on his leg and currently walks on his toes due to difficulty fully placing his foot on the ground. In addition, damage to the bone in his right middle finger has left him unable to fully straighten it. He has stiches on his back too from the knife attack.
The incident occurred on the night of 7th December 2025, and multiple videos circulated online afterward, including footage of a fight inside the club and another video showing a group chasing a lone individual, who was a Smogs member, in Paro town.
According to the victim and eyewitnesses, the initial incident occurred inside the club, followed by two separate incidents outside, though the exact sequence remains unknown.
Following the Paro stabbing incident, some of the same alleged suspects were involved in a separate brawl in Thimphu on the same night, leading to Cutie’s detention there after being granted bail in Paro.
Cutie’s Mother responds
The mother of Cutie said that in the police station confrontation Cutie interrupted the discussion, insisting that while he had been present, he did not stab the victim.
She said Cutie told the group that after Kelden stabbed the victim, he intervened out of fear that the situation could turn fatal. According to her, Cutie claimed he pulled Kelden away, placed him in the vehicle, and immediately left the scene.
Cutie’s mother said the victim’s mother reminded the suspects that her son might not have survived if two passersby had not intervened.
She said she then advised the victim’s mother to bring forward evidence and also told her that her son was “not entirely innocent.” She claimed the victim had made provoking phone calls after the earlier show-related altercation. She further alleged that the victim and his friends were the aggressors inside the club and were involved in a viral video circulating online.
Regarding the separate case in Thimphu that happened the same night, she said police informed her that her son, Cutie, had been detained for allegedly displaying a weapon. She added that she had told the police she could not be certain her son was fully in the right.
She said that, during the confrontation at the police station, Kelden told them he did not stab the victim out of personal hatred. However, she said Kelden insisted that during the earlier confrontation inside the club, the first attack had been made by the victim and his friend, who later escaped while the victim was stabbed outside.
According to her, Kelden said he was enraged because the victim and his friends had beaten him inside the club. Later, when he saw two people walking outside, he assumed they were Paro locals who had attacked him earlier. She said he admitted stabbing the victim without realising it was the victim.
Cutie’s mother claimed that the victim had grabbed her son by the collar inside the club and warned him to stay aside, saying he might get dragged into trouble because of Kelden. She said Cutie then returned to the stage and announced the victim’s nickname over the microphone, saying he was “overdoing it.”
She further claimed that when groups of Paro youths, whom she described as the victim’s friends, were checked at the club entrance, staff seized two knives from them. She said that during the fight inside the club, the Paro group had cue sticks, after which Kelden also drew a knife. She said the presence of weapons prompted staff and other patrons to intervene and separate the groups.
Victim speaks again
Responding to claims that Cutie stopped Kelden from further stabbing him, the victim said these statements are fabricated. The victim said he clearly remembers seeing both Cutie and Kelden holding knives and attacking him.
The 25-year-old victim added that after police informed him that his friend had been involved in the earlier club fight, he wanted to confront him about it. Once the friend was released on bail, the victim called him and asked why he had not disclosed his involvement earlier.
According to the victim, his friend said he did not think the situation would escalate and then narrated his account of the incident.
The friend reportedly said he was standing beside the victim when the fight initially broke out, and when Kelden displayed a weapon, staff confiscated it.
In the chaos that followed, the friend said he was punched and he retaliated instantly.
The victim again reiterated that he was not involved in any attack in the club or later.
