Following frequent reports of missing cattle, the people of Pangbisa Village in Paro came together to take matters into their own hands. And this seems to have worked out for the villagers who had been facing this problem for a long time. After combing the nearby forests for days, the villagers finally caught two suspects on Tuesday. The men were caught near the slaughter sites with butchering tools in their vehicle.
About 20 residents of Pangbisa have been sweeping the jungle near their village every day since Sunday.
This was after the villagers discovered the butchered remains of two cattle in the forest.
“On Sunday while I was in the town, I got a call from my friend who told me the slaughtered remains of a bull which I owned had been found. He shared the pictures with me on WeChat. So, I immediately went to the spot and found out that it was indeed my ox which had been killed,” said Dawa, a resident.
I paid Nu 100,000 for the Mithun as a breeding bull. On Saturday, I set it free in the forest to graze but it didn’t return in the evening. And on Sunday, I went around to check and I found the heads and skin of my Mithun. It is one of the main sources of income for me. And another 5 cattle from my herd are still missing,” said Ugyen, another resident.
The villagers say they had been hearing about incidents of cattle going missing regularly but had thought they had become prey to wild animals.
“Some of our village mates went to the forest to gather their cattle for ploughing their fields. They found remains of animals and all of us came to look for it. I lost two of them and one is killed now. It is happening for the first time in this area,” said Tshering Zam, a resident.
“I have looked for my cow everywhere but in vain. An ox of mine was killed here and they took all the meat. We depend on agriculture for a living and we can’t farm without the animals,” said Zam, another resident.
“The people have losing cattle for a long time now but we couldn’t report it because there wasn’t any proof of them being butchered,” said Lam Rinzin, Pangbisa Tshogpa.
The villagers say there was a third person who fled the scene. Two cattle were also found tied to a tree near the place where the men were caught.
The villagers also shared that while inspecting the mobile phones of the suspects, they found messages discussing meat sale and money transactions. The suspects have been handed over to the police who say investigations are ongoing. BBS also learnt that two meat shop owners were also taken into custody for questioning by the police but they were later released.
Meanwhile, the villagers want the suspects to compensate the affected villagers if they are found to be guilty.
Namgay Wangchuk, Paro
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
