Image courtesy: Reuters
The United States has issued a travel advisory for Americans tourists to India, urging them to “exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism.” The advisory further says, “Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations.” The advisory issued on October 5 by the US State Department categorically says, “Do not travel alone, particularly if you are a woman.”
The fears about sexual assaults are not unfounded given how just this year, at least two cases of tourists being raped were reported from Rajasthan and Goa. In March this year, Times of India reported that a 31-year-old Dutch woman was raped by a masseur in Jaipur. In another shocking incident in June, NDTV reported that a British woman was raped in front of her partner by a masseur in Goa’s Arambol area.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)’s Crime in India 2021 report, as many as 150 instances of crimes against foreigners were recorded in 2021. These included 15 cases of sexual offenses committed against women tourists. Overall, out of the 4,28,278 cases of crimes against women, 7.4 percent of the cases or 31,692 were rape cases, while 20.8 percent of the cases or 89,081 were related to assault with intent to outrage modesty. Kidnapping and abduction accounted for 17.6 percent or 75,376 cases.
On the subject of terrorism, the US travel advisory says, “Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and government facilities.” It further advises tourists not to travel to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (except the eastern Ladakh region and its capital, Leh) “due to terrorism and civil unrest.” Citing a “potential for armed conflict”, it also advises against travelling to within 10 kilometers of the India-Pakistan border.
The advisory is significant in wake of a spate of terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, where suspected militants have been targeting Kashmiri Pandits, migrant workers and security personnel. SabrangIndia has reported previously about how on October 5, 2021, Makhan Lal Bindroo, a well-known Kashmiri Pandit businessman who ran two medical stores in Srinagar including one started by his family in 1947, was shot dead by suspected militants. Others killed include Rahul Bhat, who worked at the revenue department in Budgam as a PM Package employee, Rajni Bala and Supinder Kaur, both school teachers. Muslims have also fallen victims to the bullets of terrorists. Kashmir television artist Amreen Bhat was killed in front of her 10-year-old nephew who was also injured in the attack. A migrant worker from Bihar named Mohammed Amrez, was killed in Bandipore.
The advisory also says, “The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in rural areas from eastern Maharashtra and northern Telangana through western West Bengal as U.S. government employees must obtain special authorization to travel to these areas.”
The complete travel advisory may be viewed here.
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