Portuguese tourist robbed in Goa

Anyone who has been to the

Azad Maidan

police station in Mumbai in the past 11 days may have wondered what a long-haired, well-tattooed young foreigner is doing moving casually about the place in his shorts, and sometimes without his shirt.


The reality is, he has neither been arrested, nor detained, nor been called for questioning. He's Portuguese national Diago Alexander and has been given shelter by the Azad Maidan police after some people in Goa stole all his belongings, his money, and his passport. His appearance of course is of one who truly set out to be on a Goa beach, but how did he land up among Mumbai's men in khaki?

Diago was found lying outside Churchgate station on February 8 by an insurance agent, Pankaj Choudhary, who was passing by. Feeling bad for his plight, Choudhary spoke to him and took him to Azad Maidan station.

"Choudhary told us Diago had lost all his belongings and passport and had no money to eat. We made a diary entry and informed Special Branch-2," inspector Deepak Palau, who has been taking care of Diago, said. SB-2 is part of Mumbai police and is responsible for supervision of airports, seaports and FRRO (Foreigner Regional Registration) officers who verify passports and decide on applications. SB-2 officials checked with the Portuguese consulate, which confirmed Diago is a citizen of Portugal. Consulate officials said they were making arrangements to send emergency travel documents so Diago could be deported. Diago told TOI he was a native of

Madeira

and had come to India on December 18 on a tourist visa. "After a few days in Delhi, I spent January in Goa holidaying. In February, some people in Goa robbed me of my belongings, including my passport and $4,000," he said.

Another cop said, "When Diago complained to

Goa police

on February 7, they put him in a luxury bus and sent him to Mumbai, thinking the Portuguese consulate in Mumbai would help him. They were unaware there is a full-fledged office of the Portuguese consulate in Goa." Diago has been eating and sleeping either near the lock-up or the station house. Once his documents arrive, he will be handed over to SB-2 officials, who will deport him to Portugal, said Vasant Vakhare, senior inspector, Azad Maidan police station.



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