American Woman Found Dead in Bathtub
NEW DELHI: Ms Vanisa Smith (30), a visiting American, was found dead in the bathtub of her Radisson Hotel room here on Aug 11. She was staying in Room No 310 alongwith her husband, Smith, and their little child. Before coming to Delhi, they stayed at Dehra Dun. The Smiths had been in India for 16 months.

Two German Tourists Killed in Himalayas Go to top
MANALI/SRINAGAR: A German tourist, Jorg Meihrauch, was killed and his companion wounded, presumably by robbers, while they were trekking in the Manaki-Chhatru route on July 13. Jorg's body was handed over to German embassy officials after post-mortem examination. One, Seas Ram, and two others have been arrested in this connection. The wounded German has been flown to his native place in Munich, accompanied by an Indian doctor.

According to Adrian, the injured tourist, the miscreants opened fire at their tent, shot at them and chased them. Later they set their tent on fire. Their passports, air tickets, travellers' cheques, cash etc were found missing, he claimed. It is learnt that about 250 labourers coming from neighbouring states, engaged by the forest department in Manali, had been staying around for some days.

In the second incident, Harfurth Rolf, another German tourist, is believed to have been killed by Kashmir militants in the Zanskar range inLadakh region after kidnapping him from a point called Rungdum near the border. He was kidnapped on July 15 when he was trekking. Another report said Rolf went missing on July 11 after three monks in whose vehicle Rolf is said to have taken a lift were gunned down by militants at Rungdum on Kargil-Zanskar Road. The tourist's body was found on Aug 2 in the Nunkunranges. The body had three bullet wounds. It was also later handed over to German embassy officials.

Italian Allegedly Killed by Guide Go to top
NEW DELHI: An Italian, 35-year old Daniele Tentori, who went missing in Uttarakashi in Uttar Pradesh towards April end, is believed to have been killed by a local guide he had engaged. A resident of northern Italy and shopkeeper by profession, Daniele was on the last leg of his world tour in India. A Spanish couple were his companions in the trekking till April 22 when they fell ill and returned. A local guide, Srichand, was left to accompany him. April 29 was the last his parents heard from him. His body was found at Hanuman Chatti early June, decomposed and mutilated. His parents had sent a couple of persons from Italy to search for him when communication with him snapped. Apart from protesting against inadequate security to foreign tourists in India, Daniele's parents also alleged a ``wide conspiracy''.

American Tourist Missing Go to top
NEW DELHI: James Bradford, an American tourist who came to Delhi from Los Angeles on Nov 11 on a six-month visa, left his Mehrauli residence for Rishikesh on April 22, leaving behind his travel papers with a friend. An advertising executive in the US, Bradford has gone missing.

French Visitor Falls, Dies Go to top
NEW DELHI: A French citizen, Cong Lui Hong, 26, who came to India on a three-month vacation, on April 16, died after a fall from a minaret at Jama Masjid here on May 8. The police say he might have gone giddy due to the height or tripped from the staircase railings. The embassy refused to take custody of the body.

Russian Economist Missing Go to top
NEW DELHI: Alexey Yrievich Ivanov, a visiting Russian economist, who arrived in the Capital on April 17 and was scheduled to return by Aeroflot on May 16, has been reported missing. He presumably had gone on sight-seeing in Garhwal hills. Embassy officials say Ivanov had deposited his return tickets, some money and other things with a local agency before embarking on his tour of the mountains.

by A Correspondent