New Delhi: In the wake of rising incidence of crime against tourists, the Centre has decided to review security measures with state governments on January 24.

A communication in this regard was sent to all chief secretaries by tourism secretary Shilabhadra Banerjee on Thursday, an official spokesman said.

The alleged rape of a British journalist by a guesthouse owner in Udaipur, Rajasthan, and molestation of an US tourist in Pushkar are said to be the immediate spurs for the central move.

The police arrested the guesthouse owner on Wednesday. “We have arrested Prabat Singh on the charge that he raped the British journalist on December 23 while staying in his guesthouse,” a police officer said here. “The 40-year-old journalist did not inform us of the incident. We came to know of it through the British high commission, to which she had sent an email,” he said.

Meanwhile, a relative of a priest was arrested in Pushkar town of Ajmer district in Rajasthan on Thursday for allegedly molesting the 28-yearold US tourist from Oregon.

A police team arrested Satynarayan, brother-in-law of the priest of Pap-Mochani temple, circle officer Sangram Singh said. The woman, who is on a pilgrimage in the lake town, had alleged that the “priest” molested her while she was offering prayers at the temple on Wednesday, he said, adding that Satynarayan had confessed to the crime and would be paraded before a judicial magistrate and the victim for identification on Friday.

Safety and security of tourists will be the top agenda of the state tourism secretaries’ meeting with the Union tourism ministry here on January 24. “While law and order is a state subject, the Centre has decided to build pressure on states to ensure safety and security of tourists,” said an official from the tourism ministry.

In his letter to the chief secretaries, tourism secretary Banerjee has referred to recent media reports of harassment of women tourists and reminded the state governments of the Centre’s concern about the safety and security of foreign as well as domestic tourists.

Source : DNAIndia