Delhi is among the most unsafe places for foreigners in India with 164 cases of heinous crimes registered here in 2014, the latest data released by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has revealed. Of the 164 foreigners targeted, 135 were tourists.
Goa follows close on the heels of the national capital with 73 cases, while Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan follow with 66, 59 and 36 cases respectively.
The cases pertain to crimes like murder, attempt to murder, rape, molestation, kidnapping, robbery, cheating, forgery and theft.
Out of the total 486 cases of crime against foreigners registered in India, 384 crimes were against tourists, while in 102 cases foreigners here on business visa or for other work were targeted.
Tour operator Anil Kanthale told IANS: "Many women tourists say they do not want to visit Delhi as they find it insecure. But the situation was not so bad before the December 16, 2012 gang rape incident."
"The gang rape case has damaged Delhi's reputation as a safe-for-tourists city. A rape-cum-robbery case with a Danish woman in January this year also spread a sense of insecurity among foreign tourists," he said.
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When contacted, top police officials were tight-lipped over the issue.
"If any crime takes place in the city, everyone targets the police. I accept that it's our responsibility to provide a secure environment to those living in Delhi, but most of the crimes occur when victims are not careful about their safety," a police officer told IANS on the condition of anonymity.
The officer also said that foreigners are easily targeted as they are not familiar with the city.
"We take every case against any foreigner on a priority basis and try to solve it as soon as possible by arresting the criminal. We also ensure the safety of every foreigner," the officer added.
Goa is the second most unsafe place with 73 cases of crime against foreigners, including 66 cases in which tourists were affected.
Uttar Pradesh with 66 cases, including 64 tourists, is on third position.
Maharashtra saw 59 such cases, including 25 tourists and 34 other foreigners living there, being registered followed by Rajasthan with 36 cases, including 31 tourists.
States where no crime against foreigners was registered are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.
Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram and Odisha registered only one case each. Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana were among the states where only two cases of crimes against foreigners each were registered.
Apart from Delhi, Puducherry and Chandigarh were the only two Union Territories where foreigners were attacked, with seven and two cases, respectively.
However, there was not a single crime case against any foreigner in the remaining four Union Territories.
"Of the total 486 cases of crime against foreigners, 260 cases were of robbery, followed by 39 cases of molestation and 22 cases of rape," the NCRB data said.
It said that five foreigners, including four tourists, were killed in India while four were attacked for the purpose of murder.
The NCRB data said that three foreigners were kidnapped in 2014.
(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in)