Headlines
Delhi most unsafe for foreigners, reveals NCRB data
By
Rajnish Singh New Delhi, Aug 20
Delhi is among the most
unsafe places for foreigners in India with 164 cases of heinous crimes
registered here in 2014, the latest data released by the National Crime
Record Bureau (NCRB) has revealed. Of the 164 foreigners targeted, 135
were tourists.
Goa follows close on the heels of the national
capital with 73 cases, while Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan
follow with 66, 59 and 36 cases respectively.
The cases pertain
to crimes like murder, attempt to murder, rape, molestation,
kidnapping, robbery, cheating, forgery and theft.
Out of the
total 486 cases of crime against foreigners registered in India, 384
crimes were against tourists, while in 102 cases foreigners here on
business visa or for other work were targeted.
Tour operator Anil
Kanthale told IANS: "Many women tourists say they do not want to visit
Delhi as they find it insecure. But the situation was not so bad
before the December 16, 2012 gang rape incident."
"The gang rape
case has damaged Delhi's reputation as a safe-for-tourists city. A
rape-cum-robbery case with a Danish woman in January this year also
spread a sense of insecurity among foreign tourists," he said.
When contacted, top police officials were tight-lipped over the issue.
"If
any crime takes place in the city, everyone targets the police. I
accept that it's our responsibility to provide a secure environment to
those living in Delhi, but most of the crimes occur when victims are not
careful about their safety," a police officer told IANS on the
condition of anonymity.
The officer also said that foreigners are easily targeted as they are not familiar with the city.
"We
take every case against any foreigner on a priority basis and try to
solve it as soon as possible by arresting the criminal. We also ensure
the safety of every foreigner," the officer added.
Goa is the
second most unsafe place with 73 cases of crime against foreigners,
including 66 cases in which tourists were affected.
Uttar Pradesh with 66 cases, including 64 tourists, is on third position.
Maharashtra
saw 59 such cases, including 25 tourists and 34 other foreigners
living there, being registered followed by Rajasthan with 36 cases,
including 31 tourists.
States where no crime against foreigners
was registered are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.
Jammu and
Kashmir, Mizoram and Odisha registered only one case each. Himachal
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana were among the states where only
two cases of crimes against foreigners each were registered.
Apart
from Delhi, Puducherry and Chandigarh were the only two Union
Territories where foreigners were attacked, with seven and two cases,
respectively.
However, there was not a single crime case against any foreigner in the remaining four Union Territories.
"Of
the total 486 cases of crime against foreigners, 260 cases were of
robbery, followed by 39 cases of molestation and 22 cases of rape," the
NCRB data said.
It said that five foreigners, including four tourists, were killed in India while four were attacked for the purpose of murder.
The NCRB data said that three foreigners were kidnapped in 2014.
(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at [email protected])