The harassment case in the capital had tripled last year compared to the previous years. Thimphu Police Station registered at least one harassment every month case last year. According to the police, the increase is due to the lockdown.
The Penal Code of Bhutan 2004 states that a defendant shall be guilty of the offence of harassment if the defendant engages in a course of conduct that places a person in reasonable fear of emotional or mental distress. The offence of harassment shall be a petty misdemeanour, which means a defendant convicted shall be sentenced to a prison term of one month to a year.
As per the records maintained with the police, about 30 harassment cases were reported last year. People aged between 30 to 45 years were the victim of the harassment.
In 2019, only 8 such cases were registered.
According to police, alcohol was the main reason for the harassment and it mostly happened between couples.
Lt. Col. Gembo Penjor, the Officer Commanding said, “In 2020, there were two lockdowns where the families are together for a period of one month and during that time lots of harassment cases were reported. This happened under the influence of alcohol or because of possessiveness. We have Women and Child Protection unit where we have a lady officer, so we give counselling.”
Other than couples, there were cases of people getting bullied during odd hours. However, this year Thimphu Police station registered only one harassment case to date.
Pema Seldon Tshering
