Published 11:42 IST, October 19th 2019
Bhutan Police arrest biker from Maharashtra for desecrating holy spot
A biker Abhijit Ratan Hajare from Maharashtra has been detained by the Royal Bhutan Police on Friday for allegedly desecrating a holy spot in Dochula, Bhutan
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An Indian tourist has been detained by the Royal Bhutan Police on Friday for allegedly desecrating a holy spot in Dochula, Bhutan. According to 'The Bhutanese', the accused, identified as Abhijit Ratan Hajare from Maharashtra, had been travelling across the Bhutanese countryside with a 15-bike convoy. The team was led by a Bhutanese national. The incident took place when the convoy was resting in the vicinity of the Dochula Pass that connects Thimpu to Punakha.
1/3 Breaking: The tourist in the biker outfit is Abhijit Ratan Hajare from the Indian state of Maharashtra.
— The Bhutanese (@thebhutanese) October 18, 2019
In the second picture the man sitting on the ladder is a Bhutanese citizen and carpenter, Jambay, who was doing repair works on the Chortens pic.twitter.com/Mq3vn2VKSI
The biker Abhijit Ratan Hajare was seen standing on the dome of Chorten, a sacred stupa in Bhutan that led to massive outrage on social media. He got captured on camera climbing the sacred Buddhist structure after which he was detained by Bhutan's police for hurting the religious sentiments of the people. A chorten or a stupa is an important religious monument in Buddhism and symbolises Buddha’s presence. There are about 108 stupas built in the region that have high Buddhist religious importance.
2/3 Abhijit was part of a 15 bike convoy headed by a Bhutanese team leader. Incident happened when bikers were resting at Dochula and the team leader was trying to arrange parking for the bikes. The Bhutanese team leader was unaware of the incident.
— The Bhutanese (@thebhutanese) October 18, 2019
Bhutan Police investigates
According to reports, Abhijit Hajare’s passport was subsequently seized by the RBP and an investigation in the matter has been launched. He has also been allowed to stay at his hotel until the investigation is completed. Hajare climbed to the top of the monument by a ladder with the help of a Bhutanese carpenter named Jambhay and stood on top of the Chorten while posing for pictures. Jambhay, the carpenter, who was doing repair work on the Chorten, also posed for getting pictures clicked and the RBP is trying to track him down as well.
3/3 Abhijit whose passport has been taken by the RBP has been called in for questioning today.
— The Bhutanese (@thebhutanese) October 18, 2019
RBP is launching its investigation today.
The Indian tourist came across Jambay and he allowed them to climb the ladder. The RBP are in the process of tracking Jambay down.
09:07 IST, October 19th 2019