In an alarming trend of Rajasthan becoming unsafe for foreign women tourists, a British journalist was allegedly raped by the owner of a guest house in Udaipur and an American tourist molested while offering prayers at a temple in Pushkar.
The alleged culprits in both the incidents have been arrested and the crimes come on the back of the rape of a couple of German women in two separate incidents in the desert state.
The owner of the guest house Parvat Singh was arrested by Udaipur police on Wednesday after they received an e-mail from the British High Commission, city Superintendent of Police Govind Gupta said over the phone.
He said the e-mail was a forward of the complaint lodged by the 40-year-old woman, which alleged she was sexually assaulted on the night of December 23 when she asked for a blanket at the guest house.
"The victim has been traced and her statement will be recorded tonight," he said, adding that Singh (28), who runs Pardesi Guest House in the City of Lakes, will be produced in court on Thursday.
Udaipur range Inspector-General of Police Rajiv Dasod said the British woman 'is a freelance journalist working for a PR agency and this is her eighth visit to Udaipur. A police team in Pushkar, meanwhile, arrested Satynarayan, brother-in-law of the priest of Pap-Mochani temple, for allegedly molesting a 28-year-old American woman tourist.
Pushkar police station Circle Officer Sangram Singh said the woman from Oregan who is on pilgrimage in the lake town, alleged that the 'priest' molested her while she was offering prayers at the temple on Tuesday, he said.
He said Satynarayan had confessed to the crime and will be put on an identification parade before a magistrate and the victim on Thursday, Singh said.
The fresh incidents come even as Rajasthan and Orissa police have not been able to track Bitihotra Mohanty, who jumped parole in December 2006 in connection with the rape of a German research scholar in Alwar, or his DIG father B B Mohanty.