Two other men were also arrested for helping the escapees

Update: Following a massive manhunt, the Royal Bhutan Police have arrested the two detainees who escaped from the Thimphu city police station’s detention centre, from a forest between Wangkha and Taktikothi in Chukha on December 27.

The 28-year-old man from Punakha and the 35-year-old man from Wangduephodrang have been at large since they escaped from the detention centre along with three other detainees on December 20.

Three of the detainees were arrested from a flat in Taba, two days after their escape.

A police official said that a joint search by all the police divisions led to the capture of the two detainees.

“The police did not have particular information about the two escapees when they were arrested,” the official said.

The official said that during the joint search for the two escapees, commuters were asked not to give lifts to anyone along the way. And upon interrogation, it was found that no one ferried the two escapees and that was a disadvantage to them. “We appreciate that the commuters and the public in general cooperated with us.”

Of the five detainees, four are under trial for alleged burglary and possession of controlled substances and one was convicted for a non-compoundable prison term for burglary.

One of the helpers is the brother of an absconder. He was arrested with the absconder for having been involved in possessing controlled substances but he is currently on bail. He drove the three detainees from Changlam square to Taba in Thimphu on December 20.

While the other helper who is a friend of a detainee has been arrested because he let the three detainees stay in his flat in Taba for two nights.

The two helpers will be charged for harboring and assisting the absconders, the official said.

Police confirmed that the detainees removed the visitor room’s window gills and escaped from there.

Besides their sentences, the detainees will also be charged for escaping from lawful custody.

According to the Penal Code of Bhutan, the offense of escape from lawful custody shall be a misdemeanor in addition to the remaining sentences of which the defendant is undergoing.

The imprisonment term for a misdemeanor offense ranges from one to three years.

Staff Reporter