Missing French woman traced to Alwar

ALWAR/AJMER: Fourteen days after she reportedly went missing from Pushkar, the 20-year-old French woman Gaelle Chouteau was traced out at a village near Bhiwadi in Alwar district on Thursday. The French tourist had willingly gone to the village to learn about organic farming, the Alwar police have said.
Bhiwadi’s Additional SP, Sidhanth Sharma said that Chouteau was found at a farmhouse in Sare Kalan village. “The French tourist had read about organic farming on the internet and came here a few days ago. She said she had come here out of her free will,” Sharma told TOI.
The tourist was reported to be missing from Pushkar since June 1. Her friends had been appealing to people on social media to help her trace out. Based on her friend’s appeals, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted on June 11 that her ministry has contacted Ambassador of France in India to check up about Chouteau and revert. Subsequently, Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler tweeted on Wednesday that the woman has been missing since June 1 when she left Pushkar for Jaipur. Chouteau had come to Pushkar from Jodhpur on May 30.
The TOI published a story about the missing tourist on Thursday, following which the police intensified its search operations. The woman’s friends contacted TOI on Thursday and sought help in tracing her in India.
The Bhiwadi police said that Chouteau had come to Alwar on June 1 from Pushkar to meet one Satya Jyoti, who has an organic farming unit. “We may take action against Jyoti for failing to inform the police about Chouteau. According to rules, if a foreign national comes to stay at someone’s place, the owner needs to inform the local police,” a senior police official said.
The police said that the Sare Kalan village under the limits of Chopanki police station is frequented by several foreigners to learn about organic farming.
Following Chouteau’s friends messages on social media, the Ajmer police were pressed into action. The social media appeals had gone viral, prompting other tourists to demand an investigation into the Frenchwoman’s disappearance. IGP (Ajmer range) Malini Agarwal called a meeting of district police officials on Thursday to discuss the missing tourist’s matter.
By late Thursday evening, the Rajasthan police heaved a sigh of relief when the woman was finally traced in Alwar district. The Alwar police said that Chouteau will be handed over to the Ajmer police on Friday.