Jodhpur: Two youths posing as tour guides allegedly molested and tried to rape French women tourists in Mandore garden here, police said.
The accused were arrested after locals caught them on hearing the tourists` cries for help, police said.
According to DCP (East) Rahul Jain, two women tourists of French origin had come to visit Mandore garden this afternoon.
"They were greeted by two youths identified as Jasan Khilji and Musarak Alam (both in their twenties), who introduced themselves as tourist guides and offered to take them around the garden," Jain said.
Believing them, the tourists followed the duo, who led them to a temple behind the garden`s lake, an isolated area, and tried to overpower them with an intention of rape.
"The aghast tourists cried for help, which was heard by a person named Gopal in the vicinity," SHO of Mandore Police station Kishore Singh Bhati said.
Seeing this, both the youths rushed towards the main gate of the garden and tried to board a bus to flee from the spot.
"But the tourists` and Gopal`s cries to catch them alerted others around, who caught the fleeing youths," Bhati said.
They were beaten up by the crowd and handed over to the police, called by the Tourist Assistance Force (TAF) on duty.
Jain said a case has been registered against the duo and the statements of the victims have been recorded.
"We have been handling the case with all sensitivity and have already stepped up security cover at such tourist spots, which are a little isolated," he said.
Both the accused are daily wagers, he said.
