Brother drugged and robbed in Delhi -advice

ThomasPayne

Hi _i'm new here and I was hoping somebody might be able to offer some advice-

my brother is travelling in India and today I got an email from him saying he'd been drugged and robbed and didn't know what to do next. Since then I have been unable to get in contact with him by phone or email. I don't know where his hotel was, or any details about his location except that he was waiting to get a bus to Amritsar when he was robbed. I've called the British Embassy but they don't seem very interested. What else can I do to find him and help him? Any suggestions would be appriciated.

Thanks

amarama

I m close to my brother, so I understand this is hard. So try and stay calm. If he was able to email you, he is okay. That is what is important. Try and relax, your brother has good reason not to be in contact. He was probably rescued by some caring local family. There probably giving him sweets and plenty of Chai.
So what I would do, is gather up anything your brother can use, To get his passport back, atm, travels checks. Maybe dont go calling his bank and that just yet. Be ready to western union him money. Luckly in India, you can stay in a hotel, and pay when you leave. So he probably has a safe place to stay. Post back with as many details as you can think, no matter how small. Maybe someone from India mike is their and can help. orgive you better instruction than myself.

PeakXV

Hi, sorry to hear about your brother. If you have no idea what city he was in now or any of his disembarkment and/or intended itinerary info - you may well be able to discern some valuable location information through the internet protocol of the received email .... and then narrow things down from there. Wish I could be of more help - best of luck in locating him and finding him safe.

__________________
What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

ThomasPayne

Thanks -he is def. in Delhi right now. he was at a bus stop waiting to go to Amritsar, but he never got on the bus. When he woke up everything was gone, even his shoes.

I don't know where he emailed me from or how he got internet access -I've tried tracing the identity of the email address through the IP but the only information I can get is "Yahoo UK"!

machadinha

<Cross-posting with a bunch of others. Yes, I'd say him having been in touch with you is a good sign in any case.>

Very sorry to hear of it.

I guess right now my best advice would be to try and take a deep breath and give him some more time to get back to you. Telecommunication and general infrastructure and so on there are still not what you might be used to at home. I've been in troublesome situations there; the time lag with home aside, finding phone or internet shops, dealing with less than perfect equipment or incomprehensible operators, the costs eating away at your finances if you're on a low budget, and trying to maintain some calm in the meantime, can all be complications, and quite frustrating.

How else did he sound like? I guess him filing a complaint to the police (can be a hassle in itself though that he may not want to deal with, but for any declaration purposes or so he'll need to), and certainly him speaking to the embassy there, would be good ideas. Pity the latter weren't more helpful or at least tried to ease your mind btw. I guess they get a lot of cases though. If he's been robbed of everything, he'll need to speak to them anyway, and he will need that police report I think.

So -- hang in there, maybe give him another day. It's 03:30 there now. And do keep us posted. And maybe ask him to keep you informed of his whereabouts. Although to many travelers not having to keep everyone informed all the time is part of the fun really, I'm sad to say in this case.

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machadinha

The IP address on the email message should actually give you his (general) location, that is: Where he sent it from.* I guess the message may have several (?) You realize you need to look at the "full details" ("source"?) or whatever it's called to be able to view them, your (web-) mail program will provide this. For a quick check, try http://www.dnsstuff.com/ , their "whois" box is what you need. It's not a foolproof system though, and may hang somewhere down the line, leading to faulty results.

* Come to think of it: If he uses webmail, I can imagine it wouldn't. I'm not sure. Anyway you seem to know he's in Delhi.

PeakXV

If he's in Delhi and had the ability to access/pay/use an internet cafe to contact you after the fact ..... it tells me he is functioning coherently and has at least a bit of money to operate. I'd give it 24-48 hours before hitting any major panic buttons.

machadinha

Yep, agree with the others. Hard as it may be for you right now.

ThomasPayne

Thanks for the advice -I'm trying to assume he's found somewhere safe to sleep tonight. One problem I'm having though is finding a working number for the Dehli police -I can't get a connection to the one on their website -I'm dialing two zeros then the nine -is that right?

ranjan154

Hi Thomas,

In case he gets in touch with you again.. Let him know about IM and tell him to post his whereabouts at least just an idea .. That would be gud enough for us to locate him here in New Delhi.

__________________
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machadinha

That police nr.: We could scour the web for it, but you don't sound too clueless so I reckon you've done so yourself. (But if members have it, then please pass it along, of course. I'm willing to google for it but it won't guarantee it works either.) Country code: Should be in your phone book, or your home operator should be able to tell you. You could even ask them to put you through to the Delhi police (zillions of stations I reckon, but there must be a headquarters).

Safe place to sleep: With heaps of travelers roaming about there and often looking after each other, and with Indians having a tendency to not be indifferent to you, and as noted hotels maybe willing to put you up until you can pay, there is a good chance he's just having a good sleep yes. I wouldn't picture him roaming about naked on the streets, that's very unlikely.

Again, try not to panic at this stage.

I know this will be hard and I totally understand your concern, but again I think you need to give him some more time. If he gets back to you, give him a good scolding first for leaving you behind so worried Remember also working from some (possibly not up-to-standards -- broadband there is nothing like in Europe and doesn't even deserve the name, to name but one thing) internet cafe will be stressful in itself -- the clock and your money is ticking, you're not at the comfort of your own desk, the keyboard may have the wrong key set, the staff may be difficult to converse with, and so on. This can lead to overly swift and ill-thought out messages.

If he gets back to you and he doesn't sound well, I'd advise him to drop the sightseeing Delhi and other plans for a bit, do what first needs doing, and take it easy and stay in somewhat familiar and comfortable surroundings (as in close to his hotel, or so). If he's a new arrival, being there can be confusing enough in itself, which won't add to his general ability to focus.

Well, good luck again. And keep us posted.

bijapuri

and . . . don't expect much help from Delhi Police, unless you're prepared to help THEM, if you get my drift.
\
Sad but true

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milan

I'm in Delhi until Tuesday; if you need assistance with anything, PM me.

machadinha

That's a kind offer; unfortunately, Thomas being a new member, he won't be able to PM you at this stage, nor you him. So you'll have to make contact on board. Throwing your email address about is ill-advised, but either of you could create a disposable webmail account for it.

It's a drawback of some new and stricter handling of the PM (private messaging) system for new members.

capt_mahajan

Have nothing to add for the OP, except wishing luck and hoping all is well..but a general comment:

Travellers should have a point of contact. Even an email once every few days to anybody, indicating broad plans and basic specifics (which hotel, where going next), if an Indian point of contact is not possible.