German tourist robbed

iloveindia1234

Just thought i will post this to warn foreign tourists travelling by train/bus/air.
There was a german tourist who was given biscuits laced with sedatives on the train from Hyderabad to Bangalore. Two men speaking in hindi and english got freindly to him on the train and offered him biscuits. He was found unconscious and was admitted to a hospital by the railway authorities. He lost 24 grams gold bracelet and 1200 euros cash and 5000 Rs cash.
Just posting this because time and again educated people get fooled. There are people who give fresh fruits injected with sedatives, biscuits laced with sedatives, coffee/tea with sedatives and then rob. People keep getting fooled and fooled time and again. Please do be carefull as the authorities cannot stop all the crimes.Hope this post helps the foreign tourists who travel India.

steven_ber

It's a good idea to make tourists aware of this possibility, but just to put things into perspective.....

Crime against a tourist in London would only make the local news if the tourist was killed, and on a day when there's lots of news, it might not even make the news. (it wouldn't make the national news)

Teenage deaths from stabbings stand at 6 this week in England. (or is it London, I’m not sure if I saw this on the local or national news, sadly, I rarely take notice)

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crvlvr

A steven points out, India is not necessarily a dangerous country. Crime statistics indicate that it is pretty safe (for e.g. Mumbai is safer than New York) However, as they say, $hit happens. Tourists should make it a point not to accept anything from strangers, especially food, drugs, drinks etc,.

iloveindia1234

I also heard they light up agarbathis with fabulous aroma.
This will make people unconscious and then they rob.
But i was wondering how the thieves afford to stay awake because the aroma generated by the agarbathis spread everywhere

steven_ber

I agree with the drugs part, but not the rest.

I know this type of crime occurs in India, but it's still rare, tourists should be aware of how it works, and aware that it can happen, then put it to the back of their minds.

I mostly travel in 3-tier air con, Sleeper Class or 2nd class unreserved, I've been offered food about 20 times and have always accepted, once it was from a man travelling alone, but I'd watched his entire family saying goodbye to him on the platform, it just felt right, all the other times the offer was from families, except one time, I was a bit worried about 2 men I was travelling with, as the journey went on I realised they were both soldiers travelling from the Agra area to Assam, we ended up drinking together and eating together.

Most tourists will know when something 'feels' wrong, I'd still be worried if my travel companions didn't have children or family around them, but I'd be just as worried if they were female, and probably more worried if they were foreign tourists.

A long train journey, sharing food and conversation with an Indian family, is still my favourite destination in India, I'd hate others to miss this opportunity for fear of crime.

puppydogben

This is absolutely the best advice - just trust in yourself and always be aware but not to the point where it is debilitating to you or to your trip. This is the same anywhere whether it is New York, London or someplace else.
Of course it is sad and terrible when these things happen but people who love India do not let this prevent them from enjoying their trip and interacting with locals.
That said, this is Indiamike not the news and I think it is important for people to know that from time to time things like this can happen.

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nomad

i am assuming that those who got robbed were not absolute a$$. and those who rob are not 100% idiots and probably have enough skills to make you believe that they are normal people.

even i enjoy sharing food with others and accepting food from others. but most of the time i refuse, and at times i have told them that reason.

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steven_ber

I agree, but I'd still rather be conned and drugged than be stabbed. (as would happen in London)

I know I take a risk on trains in India, but if I didn't, I wouldn't enjoy the train trips and the people, and therefore wouldn't enjoy India as much.

Even after 20,000kms on Indian Railways, I still look forward to every train trip as if it were my first.

And the risk is still less than the risk I take everyday just walking the streets of London.

dzibead

Or shot (as would happen in the U.S.)

Seriously, where I live, a foreign tourist being robbed might not make the papers at all, or would be a tiny one-paragraph item buried in the back pages, unless, as steven said, the tourist were murdered. Even as a woman traveling alone, I felt that, in general, traveling in India was probably safer than traveling in the U.S.. A little common sense goes a long way, and is really all that's needed.

Fotuman

Offering biscuits laced with sedatives is an old trick... They do not single out foreigners, but even indians are targetted.

Infact, the Railway protection force (the police wing for security of railways), is now trying to educate train travellers through skits, song and dances etc.

One common trick is to say that this is prasad (the sweet that we get after visting temples). Mostly one wont refuse that (esp the religious minded) for one doesnt want to offend God...

Cheers
Ajay

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Noodle

@steven ber, crvlvr and dzihead, I honestly don't see the point of your posts.

The fact that crimes happen in other countries doesn't make crimes in India any less horrific. And the fact that worse crimes happen in London or the US is also not lessening the severity of being drugged by Indian strangers, then robbed.

This is not about a comparison between countries and how 'safe' India still is, this is about that these things can and do happen in India and I think it's absolutlely right of the op to put it in this forum, so that those who come to India know about it and don't trust everyone blindly but use common sense.

Don't play it down. It doesn't matter what crimes happen elsewhere or if they make the papers or not.

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Fotuman

Hey Noodle, gotta agree with you... If I am robbed, I am robbed- its hardly a consolation that I could have been shot or stabbed some place else.

Though I dont think others are trying to downplay the issue. Their only concern might be that it should not be mis-interpreted that India is not a safe place to travel, which might affect the travel plans of somepeople.

Cheers
Ajay

steven_ber

I disagree with you.

The reality is, that this kind of crime rarely happens to a tourist, rarely happens on tourist routes, rarely happens in tourist areas, and rarely happens in the train classes most tourists use.

This kind of crime gets far more exposure than it needs, when did we last do this discussion? about a month ago?

There are far too many things that are blown out of all proportion when talking about travelling in India, this is one of them.

A travel forum can discuss crime, but we have to keep it real.

3,285,000 passenger trains each year (9000 a day), between 1000 & 1500 people on many of those trains, how many tourists have been drugged?

nomad

yes noodle.

thats how over politicians solve the issue. they say thank god that you are in india. in <some other country> you may not have already died.

CliveG

As I see it Steven et al were only trying to put things into perspective. For the German tourist of any tourist who gets robbed scammed etc it is a serious matter and yes it is right and proper for people to make others aware of the possibilities. Those affected may have suffered physical damage, material loss and have had their visit spoilt and will return home vowing never to visit India again. That would be a shame as it is a relatively rare occurrence.
The problem is that if we or any other visitors to this forum only see warnings of scams, violence, robberies etc then this could give the impression that India is a den of iniquity that should be avoided.
Not enough positive posts are put on the forum to redress the balance. For example a few weeks ago I was shoping and dropped some notes (about Rs170). I ws unaware of this until a young man came up to me and asked me if I had dropped this money. I was very grateful and thanked him but maybe I should have posted a thread at the time to show what kindness is around.
I feel safer in India than I do travelling around London where I take extreme precautions against getting mugged, robbed etc. It is not about the relative safety between major cities around the world - it is about putting things into perspective.