CANACONA
Love may be considered blind, but Canacona police will not be blind to relationships that develop between local youth and foreign women tourists.
Local youth befriending foreign women tourists have now come under the scanner of Canacona police and the women could even find themselves being advised
by police if the youth concerned has had dubious antecedents.
Should the woman decide to go ahead with the relationship, the Canacona police will then intimate the embassy concerned about the situation involving their citizen.
Addressing a gathering at a World Tourism Day event in Canacona, the Canacona Police Inspector Rajendra Prabhudesai said police have begun keeping a close watch on locals befriending foreign women tourists, following the rape and murder of an Irish woman, allegedly by a local youth who had befriended her, in Canacona earlier
this year.
"Recently, we learnt that a local youth had befriended a German woman and was moving around in her company. We called the woman to the Canacona police station and spoke about her friendship with the local youth."
"She was informed in clear terms that the youth did not have a good history and could pose a threat to her safety. The girl, in turn, told us that she has no problem and said ‘he is good to me'," said PI Prabhudessai.
"Since the woman is a major and eligible to take her own decision on her friendship with anyone, the police cannot physically stop her from continuing her friendship and moving around with her local friend."
"However, we reported this matter to the German Embassy and made the embassy aware of the status involving their citizen. This is because if anything goes wrong, some countries tend to blame local governments and authorities for not taking care of their citizens," PI Prabhudessai added.
The police inspector also informed that Canacona police are regularly issuing advisories to visiting foreign nationals who holiday in the State, while also keeping a close clock tab on anti-social elements in the locality.
"We still need public cooperation, especially from tourism stakeholders, to avert any unpleasant development, which could tarnish the reputation of the tourism industry," he said.
"Incidentally, the continuous flow of tourists despite the gruesome murder of the Irish woman indicates that foreign tourists have faith in their security and safety around Canacona. We will continue to provide security cover, if there is any threat to visiting tourists here," the Canacona police inspector added.
