A 30-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged involvement in harassing a Belgian woman who was visiting India in December and was compelled to return within 24 hours, the police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma said the accused identified as Imran Latha, hailing from Srinagar is a resident of Vinod Nagar. “He speaks fluent English and owns a travel agent shop in NDMC market in Connaught Place’s Outer Circle. He was the one who, along with his brother, interacted with the Belgian national and cheated her by selling a package for a cheap hotel and made her believe that her earlier booking had been cancelled because of protests,” Mr. Verma said.
The officer said that he is being interrogated to ascertain the identity of other touts who brought her to the shop in an autorickshaw and then took her to the hotel where they had booked her stay.
The woman had landed in Delhi on December 6 and returned next day after allegedly being terrified by her experience in the Capital. Upon her return to Europe, she wrote to the Belgium Embassy who further wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs. The Ministry shared the information with Delhi Police.