Goa police arrest 3 men from Karnataka after video shows them 'harassing' female foreign tourists

Panaji, Nov 12 (PTI) The Goa police have arrested three men from neighbouring Karnataka, days after a viral social media video showed them allegedly harassing two female foreign tourists on a beach, officials said on Wednesday.

The video showed the men trying to click photographs with the women and forcing them to pose with their hands on their (men's) shoulders on Arambol beach in North Goa.

Considering the sensitivity of the matter and its impact on the perception of tourist safety in the state, the Goa Tourist Police lodged a complaint on the basis of the video clip, an official said.

Based on the complaint, the Mandrem police registered an FIR under sections 126 (2) (wrongful restraint) and 74 (assault or the use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), on November 7, he said.

A special team from the Mandrem police station launched a massive manhunt, and traced the accused to Mysuru and Bengaluru in Karnataka with the help of technical surveillance and local sources, he said.

The arrested persons have been identified as Karthik B R (28), B N Santhosha (33) and Ravi B N, all residents of Ravandur Hobli in Piriyapatna Bhoganahalli of Mysuru district, he said.

They were apprehended from their native place by the police team. The details of the operation were not disclosed earlier to avoid alerting the suspects, the police said. PTI RPS NP