Bengaluru: The recent reported attack on a Tanzanian girl student in the city shocked the nation and questions were raised regarding their safety in the city and the state.
According to the data presented on March 2 by the Minister of state for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju in Lok Sabha, Karnataka figures third in attacks on foreigners, including tourists, reported in 2014.
In his reply, Mr Rijiju furnished the details of cases reported during the year 2014 under various crime heads, including Crimes against Foreigners during 2014.
According to the data he presented, as many as 14 cases were booked in Karnataka state, which is more than even Bihar or Jammu and Kashmir and only Goa and Maharashtra have recorded a higher number of cases.
In his reply, Mr Rijiju informed that data on incidents of racial attacks on foreign nationals is not being maintained separately. It can be recalled that the recent alleged attack on the few African students in the city led to an uproar and the city police and state government were forced to act tough against the miscreants and the police officials of the jurisdiction.
Worrying issues: According to reports, three incidents of sexual harassment were reported during the year, and three foreign tourists were murdered.
Assault on women with intent to outrage their modesty, robbery, theft were the other major offences committed on foreigners in the state.
Impact on tourism
An officer from the tourism department told Deccan Chronicle that with Karnataka has a vast potential to attract foreigners for eco tourism, coastal tourism, health tourism, education tourism, even a small incident can damage the state's reputation.
“All other southern states have very few incidents of crimes against foreigners. That is why tourism is blossoming there. We need to understand the importance and potential of the tourism sector,” he said.
