TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The Russian Information Centre (RIC) in Goa has advised its citizens touring the coastal State not to get into altercations with locals in the wake of a group of fishermen allegedly attacking a few Russian nationals at Arambol on Friday.
The ‘memo’ in the form of a press release has been circulated among media houses back in Russia to create awareness among its nationals intending to visit Goa. RIC Media Coordinator Anton Platonov told Herald that the suggestion is also crucial since the Russians have difficulty in understanding and communicating in English.
The advisory essentially comes following an alleged attack on a group of Russians, who attempted to stop cruelty to a dog by some Indian men. “They tried to intervene verbally to rescue the animal. This allegedly provoked an aggressive attack by these men, who appeared to be local fishermen. A woman tourist sustained a cut on her head. She had to seek medical attention and received seven stitches to her head,” the letter reads.
In another incident, two Russian women had complained of theft in a hotel room at Candolim but they were refused assistance from the hotel management. They duo alleged that Indian currency notes, which they were carrying were stolen from their luggage, while they were staying at the hotel since their arrival here.
“The hotel management practically refused to find out what really happened… since the women do not speak English, they could not approach the police and file a complaint. No assistance was provided,” the RIC alleged, adding that the victim will file a police complaint taking help of an interpreter.
This has prompted the RIC to issue another memo asking its citizens to carry credit cards instead of cash while also calling upon the local authorities to provide additional measures to ensure safety of the tourists in Goa.
There have been at least four incidents involving Russian tourists, since the beginning of the tourist season with the recent one being the drowning deaths of three vacationers, which hit international headlines.
