Tourist couple robbed near Golden Temple again

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 12

In yet another incident of its kind, a tourist couple was robbed by unscrupulous elements when they were going to the local railway station on a rickshaw after paying obeisance at Golden Temple.

The victims were identified as Gurnam Singh, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, and his wife, Gurmeet Kaur. They were also injured in the incident when they fell from the rickshaw, as they resisted the attempt of the suspects.

Gurnam Singh stated to the police that his wife had Rs 3.50 lakh cash, two diamond rings, mobile phones and other important documents.

Ironically, it took the police five days to lodge an FIR while the incident occurred on Saturday.

A hotelier in UP, Gurnam Singh said his wife had a boutique and she accompanied him to Amritsar and Delhi for procuring readymade garments for her boutique. Therefore, she had brought the cash with her. The couple had arrived in the city on October 5 and was to return on October 7, when the incident took place. The incident occurred in the wee hours when they left for the railway station to catch the Shatabdi train.

The city police have failed miserably in curtailing the snatching incidents because tourists have become soft targets for the snatchers. The miscreants have been striking at will, especially in the areas near Darbar Sahib. Over a dozen instances have been reported to the police in the past one week. While it is believed that many of the victims preferred not to lodge a complaint with the police who dither in registering an FIR.

Nonetheless, repeated instances of the kind bring a bad name to the holy city.

Recently, a controversy had erupted when an NRI woman was robbed by snatchers while the police asked her to not to lodge an FIR.