German tourist charred to death, cause uncertain

BHUBANESWAR: The fact is that Indian isn’t a very safe destination for foreign tourists. It has been proved time and time again. Criminal assaults are comm. one and they have happened in

almost all the parts of the country. In the latest incident, Police on Saturday recovered a charred body a German tourist from a guesthouse in Puri. The deceased was identified as Vincent Julian, 23, from Rostock city in north Germany.

According to prima facie investigation, police suspected Julian might have been burnt alive in sleep late on Friday. They are investigating whether the cause of fire was accidental or deliberate. Huge quantities of painkillers and sedatives, injections and cigarettes were seized from the guesthouse room, which was bolted from inside.

“Circumstantial evidences indicate he might have come in contact with fire, which could have originated from a half-burnt cigarette. Since we recovered sedatives from his room, we suspect he was in deep slumber when the fire occurred,” DSP (city) Sasibhusan Satpathy told TOI.

“We found a medicine prescription, which revealed Julian was suffering from acute pain because he was being operated on. Perhaps, he was taking the sedatives to get relief from pain. We are verifying the prescription,” Satpathy said. For the time being, police ruled out any foul play behind his death. “We are investigating from all angles,” he said.

Police, who were not able to arrange contact numbers of his family and relatives, informed the German embassy about the incident. The body of Julian, who arrived in Puri on March 31 on a tourist visa, has been kept in the morgue at Puri district headquarters hospital.

Julian, whose profession could not be ascertained, arrived in Delhi from Germany on December 9, 2013. He travelled to southern India before coming to Puri in March. Police said Julian possessed valid passport and visa.

Guesthouse owner Rajesh Sahoo said he heard Julian screaming late night. “When I rushed to his room, it was locked from inside. I knocked, but in vain. I broke open the door and found smoke inside the room. When I turned on the light, I found him half-burnt on the bed. I informed the police and fire brigade immediately,” Sahoo told the media.