All accused in alleged Trongsa land scam denies allegations

The former Trongsa Dzongda Lhab Dorji along with nine other individuals submitted their rebuttal statement against the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), at the Trongsa District Court on June 5.

They were accused of involvement in an illegal land transaction case in Trongsa.

Rebutting the charges pressed by the ACC, the former Trongsa Dzongda Lhab Dorji said allegations made against him and his wife are not true.

He said the ACC defamed him and his wife and this has affected them both mentally and physically. Lhab Dorji said the case has affected their business and has run into losses, after the commission froze the transaction of the resort they own at Thumang.

If found innocent, Lhab Dorji requested the court to take appropriate action against the ACC for the false allegations and compensate them for the losses they incurred.

He requested the court to accept a Bha- the monetary surety of Nu 15 m each on all 20 allegations made against him and his wife. But the court did not entertain the request on grounds that this arrangement is against the principals of due process. Moreover ACC also refused to accept the execution of the Bha.

Lhab Dorji and his wife submitted to the court that the investigation carried out by the ACC is not fair and that they were not given enough opportunity to respond during the investigation.

Lhab Dorji also raised an issue on the conflict of interest, since both the complainant and the officer who carried out investigations, are from Trongsa.

The remaining eight accused also submitted their rebuttal statement denying the allegations.

Former Trongsa Dzongda Lhab Dorji and his wife Karma Tshetim Dolma are the prime accused. ACC have charged them with forgery, execution of documents by deception, official misconduct, and offence related to witness.

The other accused individuals are the then Trongsa Drangpon Ugyen Tenzin and former Draagteng Gup Tenzin who are accused of forgery, while the former land surveyor Narayan Dangle is being accused of official misconduct. He is also being charged for abetting the alleged crime.

The rest- former Nubi Gups Tashi Penden and Phuntsho, and Wangchukla and Kinleyla, the then Tshogpas of Nubi gewog, and National Land Commission’s Surveyor Kezang Nima- are accused of official misconduct.

The next hearing will take place on June 29.

The Anti-corruption Commission registered the case with the court in February 15 this year after the Office of the Attorney General dismissed it saying the case did not merit criminal proceedings.

The case concerns an alleged illegal transaction of private land measuring 2.77 acres in total in Taktse where parts of the College of Culture and Language Studies stand today. It is reported to have taken place more than a decade ago. But the case came under ACC’s scanner only in 2011 after the landowner Gyalmo from Taktse lodged a complaint to the ACC stating that she did not sell the land to Karma Tshetim Dolma.

ACC, upon investigation, found out that Karma Tshetim Dolma had colluded with the then former Draagteng Gup Tenzin and former Nubi Tshogpa late Rinchen to register the land in her name. ACC says by then the land, originally belonging to Gyalmo, has already been taken over by the Education Ministry for the construction of College of Language and Cultural Studies.

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