A Dutch national stranded in Puri for over two months after all his belongings were looted started his journey back home after Odisha Police arrested the alleged robber, an official said on Thursday.
Dutchman Anthony Yann Arkel, 71, left for Nagpur on Thursday to catch his flight to the Netherlands on Friday morning.
He ran into trouble during his visit to Puri in January, when all his belongings – Rs 7 lakh in cash, a camera and a diamond ring – were looted by a taxi driver.
Later the Dutch national contacted the Puri administration and sought help. He also told that he had already booked a return ticket from Nagpur to Netherlands on March 15, but he did not have money to travel to Nagpur. The Puri district administration kept him in a lodge and started investigation.
According to police, Anthony reached Puri on January 10. In his FIR copy, Anthony said: “I came to Puri from Netherlands and stayed at Toshali Sands for one night. Then I booked a taxi from Tour and Travel opposite Toshali Sands and went to Bhubaneswar and stopped at the taxi driver’s house to exchange foreign currency.
He further said in the FIR, “After two days, I came from Puri to the taxi driver’s house in Balisahi, kept Rs 3.5 lakh, wrist watch and diamond ring and cash worth Rs 4200 (Euro), Canon camera in my suitcase. , went to Chandbali with clothes, nuts and medicines and Rs 3.5 lakh in cash and on the way, when I got out of the cab, the taxi driver ran away.
Later, with the help of the local police, he came to Toshali Sands and the police took the photo of the cab driver from the travel agency and started investigation.
Acting on a tip-off regarding the whereabouts of the taxi driver, the police arrested the accused cab driver Sagar Malik and later produced him in a test identification parade. A Dutch citizen identified him at the parade.
While returning home, Anthony said, “I am now very happy with the arrest of the accused.” I am happy with the support from the media and local people. I have given my account number to the police. This is my sixth visit to India. I will come to India again.
