Tourists steer clear of Bihar

PATNA, March 6:

It’s not known for certain whether angels fear to tread in Bihar but one can be sure foreign tourists will be steering clear of the lawless state following reports that 12 foreigners have been mugged by criminal gangs there in the last two months. The latest victim is Nigerian footballer Elvis Egochukwan who had his wallet, containing $1000, passport and identity card stolen in Patna late on Saturday night. Mr Egochukwan had got off the train at Patna on his way to Kolkata to play for the city’s Mohun Bagan football team. To make matters worse, when the young footballer arrived at the Government Railway Police station in Patna to report the matter police sent him to Jakkanpur police station as the officers claimed the theft had not taken place in their jurisdiction. The streets were deserted due to Holi celebrations but Mr Egochukwan eventually reached the station where officers contacted the Nigerian embassy in New Delhi and arranged for him to be flown to the capital. He flew to Delhi the next day without making it to Kolkata or Mohun Bagan ~ the reason he had flown to India in the first place. On 11 February, an American NRI medical practitioner Dr Baleshwar Prasad was mugged in the smart in the posh Mauryalok complex, described as the heart of Patna. The thieves took his Indian currency, $1000, his passport, an air ticket and a traveller’s cheque. The New Jersey-based Dr Prasad who had come here to participate in a three-day global conference in the city had gone to the Mauryalok complex with his wife. Korean visitor Ms J Hum Yuan Chung, travelling to Patna to meet friends, had her passport stolen from the AC coach of a Patna-bound Howrah-Danapur Express on 18 January. A couple of weeks before that two Belgian tourists, Mr Dehabuvi Onel and Mr Sashcam Poris, were mugged while crossing the Indo-Nepal border near Raxaul on 30 December. Five days before that, two Nepalese tourists, Mr Kiran Limbo and Mr Rata Limbo, were allegedly assaulted by the staff in their hotel in Patna and robbed of $150 and Indian currency. Similarly three Australian tourists has their passports, cameras and money stolen while on their way to Patna by local train on 2 December. If high crime rates aren’t enough to keep people away it seems other Bihar residents are also keen to do their bit to drive tourism out of the state. On 25 January, 24 Taiwanese pilgrims on their way to visit Bodh Gaya, where Buddha found enlightenment, were assaulted by Gaya airport officials moments after arriving on a Thai Airways flight. Reports said the visitors were harassed by the immigration staff on the pretext of checking their belongings and prevented from leaving the airport. It was only after Bhante Rahul, the priest of Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, lodged a strong protest with the airport officials that the pilgrims were allowed to leave. Bihar boasts a number of major travel destinations including Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanada and Vaishali. In November last year the state government talked about setting up tourist-only police stations at all the major tourist spots but they are yet to materialise.