Two girls from Canada, holidaying in the backwater resort of Kumarakom with their family, were allegedly molested by a security staff of a hotel on Wednesday night. This was the second such incident involving foreign tourists in Kerala in the past 10 days.
Police said the girls, aged 12
and 14, raised an alarm when Shyju Varghese, a security guard, tried to molest them in the hotel’s billiards room.
Varghese was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by the father of the girls. “We took action immediately. Investigations are on,” Kumarakom station house officer Sanal Kumar said. The accused was granted bail on Thursday.
Following the incident, the family cut short their stay and left the resort.
Such assaults on foreign tourists have become a matter of concern for the authorities in Kerala, a priority tourism destination. On New Year’s Eve, two girls were molested on the Fort Kochi beach.