A biker group from Kerala sought apology on behalf of Abhijit Ratan Hajare, a biker from Maharashtra who offended the sentiments of Bhutanese.
“We are Indians, we are sorry that another Indian rider has offended your faith,” reported Kuensel quoting Pranav Viswanath- a biker from Kerala.
“As an Indian traveller, we felt sorry for the wrong done an Indian,” Viswanath added.
The biker group held apology notes and posed in front of the Buddha statue in Kuenselphodrang.
Two of the charts had “Sorry Bhutan” message written on it.
Another card read, “You are our neighbour, we are a friendly country and it is our duty and responsibility to respect your heritage and faith and keep it from being tainted.”
On being asked the reason behind the apology, they said, “We are tourists and we will keep visiting Bhutan. We need Bhutan’s love and cooperation.”
“The Dochula incident was an unfortunate one and it is not fair to see all Indian tourists blamed for the wrong done by one,” they reiterated.
“We are fond of Buddha and Buddhist stories,” they said adding that Bhutan is an absolute beauty.
Recently the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) detained Abhijit Ratan Hajare for ‘desecrating’ a Buddhist religious monument in Dochula.
Hajare climbed a chorten earlier this month and clicked pictures.
Since a chorten is a religious Buddhist monument, Hajare’s action had hurt the sentiments of the people of Bhutan.