Two road accidents in Thimphu
Arjun Pradhan, 20, from Samtse, was among the three victims of the July 24 accident at Dechenchholing, Thimphu. Arjun and his two friends were on their way to Dechenphug, when a DCM truck ran over them.
Prakash Pradhan, the other survivor, told Kuensel that he saw the truck coming towards them when he looked behind. “A maruti van suddenly passed by and the DCM came towards us,” he recalled.
The neurosurgeon at the Thimphu referral hospital, Major Dr Tashi Tenzin, said that Arjun was brought to the hospital at around 5 pm in a serious condition. “His skull was broken and the bones were pushed inside the brain,” he said, adding that even brain tissues had come out.
Police investigation revealed that Yeshi Wangchuk, 21, who drove the DCM at time of the incident, did not have a driver’s license. Both the driver and Yeshi Wangchuk were detained.
Meanwhile, relatives of Arjun, who spent days in hospital and the police station, said they want compensation. “He’s the only son and won’t be able to work any more,” said his cousin, Dil Maya.
Dr Tashi Tenzin said that Arjun will not be paralysed, but will suffer from headache and epilepsy since his brain was damaged.
The penal code of Bhutan states that a court may order a defendant to pay appropriate compensation, at the rate of the daily minimum national wage rate at the time of the crime, for a maximum of 10 years, if the crime causes permanent disability to the victim.
A high court judge told Kuensel that Arjun would only get compensation worth Nu 30,000 to Nu 60,000. “It depends on which desk his case is registered,” he said, adding that different judges pass different judgments.
Meanwhile, a 28-year-old man died of head injuries in another accident. The hostel caretaker Ugyen Wangchuk of the institute for language and cultural studies, Semtokha, was standing in the rear of a hilux when he hit his head on the institute’s steel gate. “The deceased’s skull bones were fractured and, despite immediate surgery, he died of excessive bleeding,” Dr Tashi Tenzin said.
