Japanese woman robbed by alleged SL guide in India

A Japanese woman visiting India to document the Independence Day celebrations was drugged and robbed of her belongings by a man who claimed to be a Sri Lankan tour guide.

According to the police, the woman, who had arrived in Delhi on August 10, was approached by the guide outside the New Delhi railway station where he offered her his services. "He told her that he was from Sri Lanka and that he used to sell coconuts there but could not earn a decent living. So he came to Delhi and became a guide," a police official said.

"The man took her to several unfamiliar places on the first day but reassured her of her safety whenever she grew uncomfortable. After winning her confidence, he planned an outing with her for the next day," she added in her statement, the woman revealed that the guide took her to a restaurant the next day where he ordered food for both of them. She said that he was gone for a while and arrived with a glass of juice which he offered to her, insisting that she try it out as it was the specialty of the restaurant.

"The woman started feeling dizzy after consuming the drink and became unconscious. She has no recollection of what happened after wards," said a police official. Police said that they received a call from a passerby who had seen her lying unconscious near Sarojini Nagar on Friday morning.

She was taken to the hospital where she was declared out of danger. Among the items reported missing by the woman were an expensive camera, an Apple mobile handset and Rs 15,000 in cash.(TOI)