Rajasthan guides tourists out of mafia

The life and times of the tourism mafia in Jaipur city are soon going to be on display. As part of a new campaign being launched by the Raja...

The life and times of the tourism mafia in Jaipur city are soon going to be on display. As part of a new campaign being launched by the Rajasthan state tourism department, hoardings across the city are going to tell foreign tourists how not to get conned by the growing number of gangs in the state.

Well-entrenched on the crowded streets of the Pink City, mingling with the camels in Jaisalmer and stalking the Delhi-Jaipur highway are smooth operators, patiently waiting for their next victim. From the shadows of monuments like Hawa Mahal, the confusion at bus stands and railway stations they emerge and pick out their victims, befriend them and then move in for the kill, robbing, abducting and blackmailing.

Their latest victim was 21-year-old Dane Thomas Jensen. His mistake was agreeing to have a cup of tea with a few men. He was further lured into the trap when they promised to show him an Indian wedding and the noose tightened after they promised to post some jewellery to his Denmark residence.

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Police finally rescued Jensen after the gang made a ransom call to his parents in Denmark. Those arrested include hotel owners and tour guides. Besides the ambitious new channel dedicated to telling the world about the wonders of Rajasthan, a new draft has been formulated with a focus on ‘‘making tourists aware’’.

‘‘In most cases, the tourist gets tempted for short-term monetary gains and it is difficult to break the vicious circle,’’ says an exasperated tourism director Rajiv Swarup. ‘‘It is not that tourists are unsafe in Rajasthan. It is ridiculous if someone walks into a trap with his or her eyes open. We can’t tell every tourist whom to talk to and who not to.’’

On the streets of Jaipur, everybody knows everything about the wily world of the expanding mafia. Jaipur police have dossier on all of them, from the lapkas (tour guides who double up as crooks)to the those involved in dabbabazi, complete with names, area of operation and modus operandi.

While the lapkas latch on to tourists, those into dabbabazi lure backpackers with money. ‘‘They convince tourists to act as couriers,’’ explains DIG Ajit Singh Shekawat. ‘‘Backpackers are always looking for cheap deals and these men manage to win their confidence. They convince them to act as courier for jewels, promising them big money on delivery. Once the tourist agrees, they ask him to pay some money upfront on the pretext of dealing with Customs officials and then becomes difficult for the person to get out of it.’’

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Having found their carrier, the gangs move in closer. Working in close coordination with hotel and showroom owners and taxi drivers, they make sure that the tourist has no access to the real world. The tourist is only ‘‘free’’ when he has boarded an aircraft out of the city.

Ravi Sharma is on his first ‘‘adult trip’’ to Jaipur. The Londoners assures you he can take care of himself. ‘‘Of course I take precautions. I wouldn’t travel anywhere without having done some homework on the place. I was out in the market and lots of people wanted to say hello. I don’t think they wanted money.’’

‘‘It is in their eagerness to get to know a culture and get a feel of the place that they get easily taken by smooth talking tour guides,’’ Shekawat says.