The tourist season in the state has just about begun. Goa happens to be a preferred tourist destination during the festive season. However, the alleged rape of a Russian woman at a hotel in Calangute has come at a time when Goa is desperately looking to shrug off the impact of the Russian-Ukraine war.
It is learnt that the Russian tourist was allegedly raped by the two accused, both natives of Nepal, who were employed as room-boys at the hotel. While the police should be complimented for arresting the two men in quick time, it must be said that such incidents do not augur well for the reputation of Goa being a safe tourist destination.
It is pertinent to note that room-boys employed in hotels have excess to the rooms occupied by the guests. Hence, they could be harbouring ulterior motives of committing theft and even rape of female guests who stay alone without a male partner as was allegedly the case in the present instance.
It would thus be prudent to check the antecedents of those being employed as room-boys by the police from their counterparts in their native place. Since most of those employed as room-boys could be migrants, it seems absolutely necessary to carry out their verification before employing them just like tenant verification is mandatory.
