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Delhi accounts for one-third of cases in India against foreigners.
Around 350 queries are resolved or answered by tourist cops every month. Out of these, half of them come from foreigners. (Photo: Mail Today)
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A 49-year-old woman from New Zealand, who had come to India with her Australian boyfriend for an Indian-style wedding, was found dead in "mysterious circumstances" in a Paharganj hotel in Delhi on Saturday morning.
About two weeks ago, a 45-year-old French national was robbed of 47,000 Euros by three people who posed as senior cops and frisked him in the National Capital's another haven for backpackers: Karol Bagh.
The incident took place when the man, who had come here to purchase bridal dresses, was on his way back to his hotel. Three persons came in a car and claimed themselves to be police officers.
They said they will check whether he had drugs. They took out the cash from his purse and escaped. A case was lodged and footage from CCTV cameras was being examined to identify the accused.
Though the police indicated on Saturday evening that heart attack might be the reason behind the Paharganj death, speculations about some foul play swirled through the day. "All possible angles are being probed. Post-mortem will establish the exact cause of the death," said a police officer.
These two are not isolated cases. Crime against foreigners in Delhi is rising. Data from the latest report of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) reveals that one-third of cases against foreigners in India take place in Delhi.
Apart from being an important tourist destination itself, Delhi is also a transit point for national and international travellers. The Delhi airport hosts maximum foreign guests.
Details of cases of loot, theft and cheating show most tourists were targeted by a thriving nexus of locals, tour operators, agents, touts, besides taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers.
"About three weeks ago, the New Delhi Police arrested a taxi driver for duping a US national of $1294 by selling a fake trip to Agra and Jaipur with the help of two travel agents of Connaught Place and Gol Market," said a senior officer. In August, the Delhi Police busted a fake call centre and arrested three people for running a bogus website and duping foreigners seeking evisa for India. They created the website that looked similar to a government one and cheated numerous foreigners.
In March, cops arrested the winner of Mr Haryana 2018 title and his friend, who owned a call centre, for duping foreigners into revealing their bank account details on the pretext of offering tech support.
"Together, they had mastered multiple foreign accents and duped hundreds of American and European customers of Google, iPhone, Paypal and Facebook, the police said.
Four of their associates, who had also allegedly cheated foreigners through the fake call centre they had set up," said an officer.
IMAGE TAKES A HIT
Victims have taken to social media big time to narrate their ordeals, expressing concern about their security in India's Capital.
Many foreign bloggers, who have either visited the Capital or heard about the stay here, have made tutorials about Dos and Don'ts. They have mentioned how touts and agents overcharge and drivers fool.
Recently, a US-based travel blogger recounted how she was stalked, harassed and trapped in a hotel in Delhi.
Rajji Rai, advisor, Travel Agents' Association of India, said, "When foreigners land in Delhi, they are petrified. They feel insecure and cheated 24x7. They are always suspicious that they are taken for a ride. That is an inherent fear, whether they go in an auto-rickshaw, a private cab, to hotels or to an agent."
According to a travel operator, most common targets are people from Iraq,Libya, Sudan,Qatar and other countries of the Middle East who arrive in Delhi for treatment.
"Women always fear that they might get raped or assaulted. I completely understand their fear as past incidents in Delhi have made this image."
POLICE ACTION
The Delhi Police have set up a dedicated unit for tourists. "At times, foreigners face problems related to transport, accommodation and tourism-related information and often fall victim to cheats and touts. They end up losing belongings and valuables. Hence, a dedicated unit -Tourist Police of Delhi - was set up," said Sharat Kumar Sinha, DCP (Police Control Room).
The unit has around 100 cops and 15 PCR vans. The areas frequented by tourist PCR vans include New Delhi Railway Station, Red Fort, India Gate, Rajghat, Humayun's Tomb, Janpath, Palika Bazar, Paharganj and IGI Airport.
Sinha said that the staff is comfortable in communicating with foreign nationals in basic English.
"They are given training not only to have a command over the language but also about behaviour. As foreigners are sensitive, the staff is specifically trained to be soft and gentle and talk in a polite manner. The cops are made to understand that they are acting as facilitators," he said.
Basic words and sentences of other foreign languages are also being taught to them, an official said. Cops claimed that on an average, more than 350 queries are resolved or answered by tourist cops every month. Out of these, half of them come from foreigners.
The objective of a Tourist Police, Sinha said, is to avoid harassment to tourists by touts and help them get transport and lodging at appropriate rates. "Tourist Police also ensure safety and security against cheating, pick-pocketing, eve-teasing, molestation and drugging, etc." the official said.
GRIM GURUGRAM
The situation is no better in Gurugram. On October 12, two conmen posed as crime branch officers trickily wiped 6000 US dollars from the wallets of two Iraqi nationals in Gurugram. In July, a 24-year-old foreign hair stylist was gang-raped by an auto-rickshaw driver and his friend.
Gurugram Police PRO Subhash Bokan admitted to over half a dozen cases of foreigners falling victim to criminals in the recent past.
"We have arrested some gang members from areas such as Sector 50, Sushant Lok and Bilaspur. They are well aware of the fact that foreign patients or their kin generally carry cash with them," he said.
- Chayyanika Nigam
- Ajay Kumar
- New Delhi
- November 17, 2019
- UPDATED: April 5, 2022 18:18 IST
Around 350 queries are resolved or answered by tourist cops every month. Out of these, half of them come from foreigners. (Photo: Mail Today)
Subscribe to Notifications
A 49-year-old woman from New Zealand, who had come to India with her Australian boyfriend for an Indian-style wedding, was found dead in "mysterious circumstances" in a Paharganj hotel in Delhi on Saturday morning.
About two weeks ago, a 45-year-old French national was robbed of 47,000 Euros by three people who posed as senior cops and frisked him in the National Capital's another haven for backpackers: Karol Bagh.
The incident took place when the man, who had come here to purchase bridal dresses, was on his way back to his hotel. Three persons came in a car and claimed themselves to be police officers.
They said they will check whether he had drugs. They took out the cash from his purse and escaped. A case was lodged and footage from CCTV cameras was being examined to identify the accused.
Though the police indicated on Saturday evening that heart attack might be the reason behind the Paharganj death, speculations about some foul play swirled through the day. "All possible angles are being probed. Post-mortem will establish the exact cause of the death," said a police officer.
These two are not isolated cases. Crime against foreigners in Delhi is rising. Data from the latest report of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) reveals that one-third of cases against foreigners in India take place in Delhi.
Apart from being an important tourist destination itself, Delhi is also a transit point for national and international travellers. The Delhi airport hosts maximum foreign guests.
Details of cases of loot, theft and cheating show most tourists were targeted by a thriving nexus of locals, tour operators, agents, touts, besides taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers.
"About three weeks ago, the New Delhi Police arrested a taxi driver for duping a US national of $1294 by selling a fake trip to Agra and Jaipur with the help of two travel agents of Connaught Place and Gol Market," said a senior officer. In August, the Delhi Police busted a fake call centre and arrested three people for running a bogus website and duping foreigners seeking evisa for India. They created the website that looked similar to a government one and cheated numerous foreigners.
In March, cops arrested the winner of Mr Haryana 2018 title and his friend, who owned a call centre, for duping foreigners into revealing their bank account details on the pretext of offering tech support.
"Together, they had mastered multiple foreign accents and duped hundreds of American and European customers of Google, iPhone, Paypal and Facebook, the police said.
Four of their associates, who had also allegedly cheated foreigners through the fake call centre they had set up," said an officer.
IMAGE TAKES A HIT
Victims have taken to social media big time to narrate their ordeals, expressing concern about their security in India's Capital.
Many foreign bloggers, who have either visited the Capital or heard about the stay here, have made tutorials about Dos and Don'ts. They have mentioned how touts and agents overcharge and drivers fool.
Recently, a US-based travel blogger recounted how she was stalked, harassed and trapped in a hotel in Delhi.
Rajji Rai, advisor, Travel Agents' Association of India, said, "When foreigners land in Delhi, they are petrified. They feel insecure and cheated 24x7. They are always suspicious that they are taken for a ride. That is an inherent fear, whether they go in an auto-rickshaw, a private cab, to hotels or to an agent."
According to a travel operator, most common targets are people from Iraq,Libya, Sudan,Qatar and other countries of the Middle East who arrive in Delhi for treatment.
"Women always fear that they might get raped or assaulted. I completely understand their fear as past incidents in Delhi have made this image."
POLICE ACTION
The Delhi Police have set up a dedicated unit for tourists. "At times, foreigners face problems related to transport, accommodation and tourism-related information and often fall victim to cheats and touts. They end up losing belongings and valuables. Hence, a dedicated unit -Tourist Police of Delhi - was set up," said Sharat Kumar Sinha, DCP (Police Control Room).
The unit has around 100 cops and 15 PCR vans. The areas frequented by tourist PCR vans include New Delhi Railway Station, Red Fort, India Gate, Rajghat, Humayun's Tomb, Janpath, Palika Bazar, Paharganj and IGI Airport.
Sinha said that the staff is comfortable in communicating with foreign nationals in basic English.
"They are given training not only to have a command over the language but also about behaviour. As foreigners are sensitive, the staff is specifically trained to be soft and gentle and talk in a polite manner. The cops are made to understand that they are acting as facilitators," he said.
Basic words and sentences of other foreign languages are also being taught to them, an official said. Cops claimed that on an average, more than 350 queries are resolved or answered by tourist cops every month. Out of these, half of them come from foreigners.
The objective of a Tourist Police, Sinha said, is to avoid harassment to tourists by touts and help them get transport and lodging at appropriate rates. "Tourist Police also ensure safety and security against cheating, pick-pocketing, eve-teasing, molestation and drugging, etc." the official said.
GRIM GURUGRAM
The situation is no better in Gurugram. On October 12, two conmen posed as crime branch officers trickily wiped 6000 US dollars from the wallets of two Iraqi nationals in Gurugram. In July, a 24-year-old foreign hair stylist was gang-raped by an auto-rickshaw driver and his friend.
Gurugram Police PRO Subhash Bokan admitted to over half a dozen cases of foreigners falling victim to criminals in the recent past.
"We have arrested some gang members from areas such as Sector 50, Sushant Lok and Bilaspur. They are well aware of the fact that foreign patients or their kin generally carry cash with them," he said.
