The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Asenior Royal Bhutan Police official in Samtse said that he was ‘100 percent sure’ that the death of the maid was not caused by ‘rape and murder’ as alleged by some Indian media outlets.
He said that when the police reached the spot the maid was found lying in the bed next to 500 ml of dendrite. Medical literature shows that dendrite consumed in large amounts or over a period of time can lead to deaths and overdose cases like any other chemicals drugs.
He said a detailed medical examination was done by a doctor in the presence of three senior officials and there was neither any evidence of rape or foul play. He said that even the girl’s parents had been called.
The police official said that there were no signs of struggle or any marks on the body to indicate any foul play.
The official said that during the post mortem as part of the procedure pictures had been taken of the girl’s body and that evidence alone would show no injuries on the body as alleged by Indian media outlets.
The police official said that the only male member of the family, a professor, was away on a trip when the incident happened. He said that only other people in the house were the wife and her two little children of which the older one was just five years old.
He, however, said that they were awaiting the Siliguri post mortem report.
The senior official said that vehicles travelling to and fro from Samtse were being given police escorts from the Indian side. The escort timings are 7 am, 12 pm and 4 pm. Earlier there were no escorts before the disturbance happened.
Around nine vehicles coming from Phuntsholing to Samtse had been damaged by a large mob from the Chamurchi area across the border.
The girl had died around 11 pm on 22nd November and the violence erupted on 23rd evening after the family took the girl’s body to Chamurchi and rumors spread.
Once the violence erupted, various Indian media outlets in both electronic news channels and print format without verifying with the Bhutanese side reported the death as a rape and murder.
The area across Samtse is part of the Dooars region where the main industry, which is tea, has been suffering with poor sales leading to many tea gardens shutting down. There is a high level of frustration, unemployment and poverty in the region which often culminates into violence amongst themselves and against others.
The presence of an organized, violent and aggressive political cultural typical to West Bengal is also factor in radicalizing the people in the area. With a high late of illiteracy and poverty rumors travel fast in the region.
