Manali: Even after 6 days of incident the police has failed to nab the culprits and are clueless about those involved in the gang rape of Russian woman here.
The police have announced an award of Rs 50 thousand to any person who provides information about the accused. Police have also released a sketch of the accused person that was developed with the help of the victim woman. During the crime, the accused is believed to have suffered an injury on the nose.
SP Kullu Shalini Agnihotri disclosed that the police have also created a sketch with the help of the victim, a foreign lady tourist. She has urged the people to help the police in reaching the accused. She said that the person giving information will be given a cash reward of Rs 50,000/-.
Repeated rape incidents with foreign women tourists in Manali town have raised a serious concern about their safety in Himachal Pradesh, a state visited by a large number of foreign and domestic tourists each year.
It was on Thursday midnight that the Russian woman was gang-raped. This is the second incident within a year in which a foreign tourist has been sexually abused in popular tourist valley.
The repeated incidents depict how helpless foreign women tourists are. In 2012, an Australian tourist was sexually assaulted, while in 2013, an American woman tourist was gang-raped by three Nepali youths. In 2016, an Israeli woman was gang-raped, while in 2018, a Japanese woman was raped by a taxi driver.
Such incidents are having a negative impact on the tourism industry, not only in the state but in the country as well. Hotelier of the Manali said the need was to upgrade the security system with modern equipment. It was observed in past that the CCTV cameras installed for keeping a tab on the movement of offenders, which may play a vital role in helping the police nab the offenders, were found non-functional. SP Kullu said the female tourists must also be made aware about the danger in walking alone at late hours and they must be asked to avoid the same.
Sanjay Dutta, an engineer by qualification but is a journalist by choice.
He has worked for the premier new agency Press Trust of India and leading English daily Indian Express.
With more than a decade of experience, he has been highlighting issues related to environment, tourism and other aspects affecting mountain ecology.
Sanjay Dutta lives in a village close to Manali in Kullu valley of Himachal.
