March 4: Two cases of impersonation have been reported in Samdrup Jongkhar.

On February 25, a hotelier in Samdrup Jongkhar town received a phone call asking for Nu. 50,000. The caller identified himself as the Samdrup Jongkhar Dzongda. He said he needed the money to pay for his new vehicle. Not fully convinced, she called the Dzongda and found that the Dzongda had not made the call.

Four days later, a caller identifying himself as the Mongar Dzongda asked the Post Master of the Bhutan Post Office in Monggar to send Nu. 50,000 as money order to the Bhutan Post Office in Samdrup Jongkhar.

The caller said the money is to be delivered to a hotel in Samdrup Jongkhar town. As instructed by the caller, the Bhutan Post Office in Monggar sent the money to the Bhutan Post Office in Samdrup Jongkhar. And in Samdrup Jongkhar, the Chief Post Master handed over the money to the proprietor of a hotel identified by the caller.

The hoax was discovered only after the proprietor of the hotel called the Monggar Dzongda to ask whether he had sent the money. Normally money orders cannot be made over the telephone.

The Post Master in Monggar said he had agreed because the caller sounded exactly like the Monggar Dzongda.