Goa cops reach out to German tourist; ‘definitely makes me feel safer’, he says

Panaji: Four days after TOI carried a report about a German travel influencer being followed and harassed by local rickshaw operators for booking a GoaMiles cab, Goa police reached out to the tourist, Alexander Welder.

The police, who sought details from TOI about the incident, assured Welder that they are seriously looking into the concerns raised by him.“I just received a phone call from the Goa police department, and they told me that they are looking very seriously into this matter. They do not tolerate any scams or these incidents happening to tourists in Goa,” he said.In a fresh video uploaded to his Instagram channel, Welder cited TOI’s report, which was the first to draw attention to the plight of the couple.Welder said that he appreciates the police contacting him. “It definitely makes me feel safer as a tourist and shows me that they take things very seriously,” said Welder. The police also told Welder that the GoaMiles taxi driver may have scammed him of an additional Rs 500.In his first video uploaded on Nov 9, Welder said the GoaMiles cab was stopped by the police, who charged the taxi driver Rs 500. Feeling bad for the driver, Welder and his girlfriend handed over Rs 500 from their own wallets.

“They also told me that the driver was not actually fined that day as there was no violation. Otherwise, he would not have been allowed to continue driving. I shouldn’t have paid the driver extra money. I did, because I felt bad that he got into trouble because of us,” said Welder.He said that he hoped to see Goa improve the convenience for travellers and tourists.Welder, who travelled to Mumbai and Kerala from Goa, said he would “love” to return to Goa in the future. However, the next time around, he said he would rent a car or a scooter to explore different parts of the state.