Pune (Maharashtra), April 14: A second video has surfaced online involving the same New Zealand tourist who was earlier tricked into saying Marathi abuses by a group of youths at Pune’s Sinhagad Fort. This time, another incident has come to light in which the foreign tourist was given tobacco by a local youth at Murud-Janjira Fort. The incident was caught on camera and the video of the incident is doing rounds on social media. The video has sparked outrage on social media and the internet users are demanding strict action against the youth. However, the foreign tourist saw the youth chewing tobacco and asked him to share it with him.
What Happened at Murud-Janjira Fort?
According to reports, a New Zealand-based YouTuber named "Luke", who runs a YouTube channel "@Lukethexplorer" arrived at the Murud-Janjira Fort as part of his fort exploration tour across Maharashtra. While he was walking around the fort, a local youth began talking to him, giving him some historical information.
After some time, the youth stopped and took out some chewing tobacco and began preparing it. When Luke asked him what it was, the youth said it was tobacco and also said that he also had pan masala and gutkha (chewing tobacco products, banned in Maharashtra) with him. He showed the tourist the packets of pan masala and gutkha in the video.
Warning: Abusive Language. Viewer's Discretion Advised.
Luke asked the youth to share the tobacco with him after which he showed him how to make and chew tobacco. He prepared it for him and put it in his mouth. Luke tried it but could not handle it well. The video shows him feeling uncomfortable and eventually trying to get away from the youth. Luke the spat the tobacco out of his mouth. There are reports that the incident occurred on April 11.
Earlier Incident at Sinhagad Fort
Just a day before this, another video went viral where the same tourist was tricked by a different group of youths, said to be from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, into speaking abusive Marathi words. He had no idea what the words meant but was encouraged to say them out loud. After repeating them, the youths laughed and taught him more slurs. The video caused widespread outrage online.
The local Haveli police took note of the Sinhagad incident and registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for hurting religious feelings and provoking someone deliberately.
Both incidents have deeply angered people on social media. Many are calling these actions shameful and disrespectful, especially as they harm India's image in front of foreign tourists. However, they are ignoring the fact that Luke himself asked for the tobacco. The youth was helping Luke to explore the historical site and made sure that he had a pleasant experience of his visit.
There is now a strong public demand for increased police presence at all forts, strict bans on plastic, tobacco and gutkha at entrances of the tourist spots, proper checks and patrolling to curb such incidents in the future. The tourists must also take care of what they are asking from the locals.
