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VALLEY OF VICE
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Part 1
'I won't venture out... who knows what
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TODAY'S LINKS • Take a puff... • 'I knew I would die..' |
Kfir, stubbled, in a dirty T-shirt and pyjama, would rather tell you about his days in the Israeli army. You prod and he says:
"I have done my share of trekking in Leh. I don't think I want to venture out of Manikaran. Who knows what will happen."
What will happen?
Throw that question at Martin Young, a 32-year-old, handsome Briton. He will tell how his world collapsed on the fateful night of August 25.
Young remembers going to sleep in a meadow bathed in moonlight. His girlfriend Maria Angeles Girones, 34, and her 14-year-old son Cristobal were with him in the tent.
He woke up to blows raining on them. He was dragged out and beaten repeatedly. He saw Cristobal flying past and dying of a broken neck. And a few metres away from him, Maria bled to an end.
The night stretched on and on, Young will tell you today, like a never-ending nightmare... it was ages before someone spotted him and came to his aid.
Young survived to tell the story. Others were not so lucky.
Crime statistics dolled out by the district authority hide more than what it reveals. Look sharp, read between the cold lines, and maybe you will understand how this Himalayan valley has turned into a danger zone for the 55,000-odd foreigners who visit it each year.
"There have been only two murders in the last 20 years," police officials will tell you.
What you won't get out of them is that both the murders happened in the last six months. That there are at least two others who survived murderous attacks. And of course -- this even the police will admit -- several cases go unreported.
On July 13, Germans Jorge Wiechruch, 25, and Adrian Mayer Tasch, 25, were trekking near the Hampta Pass when an armed gang struck. The tourists were shot at.
Jorgan died on the spot. Adrian, badly injured in the leg, spent a freezing night behind a boulder on this 15,000-feet high pass.
The police managed to arrest five of that six-member gang. All were local residents. Except one, all of them were in their early 20s.
"They committed this crime for money," says Kullu District Superintendent of Police N Venu Gopal.
Foreign tourists, who normally come with loaded wallets and expensive personal items, are a powerful lure for the impoverished locals.
"To get rich quick, some take to drugs trade and some others to criminal activities," the SP says.
The police suspect the "involvement of locals" in murdering Maria and Cristobal, but are yet to make an arrest.
The attacks have added to the fear psychosis that mars Kullu's image as a tourist haven. For years the valley has sucked in tourists... at times, never to return.
According to the police, 16 foreigners have gone missing here in the last 20 years. And that, we remind you, is the official record. The real number would be higher.
Maarten Salomon De Bruijn, 23, came to enjoy the magic of the mountains in May 1999. He disappeared. So did Ardavan Taherzadeh, 25, a Canadian. To date, there has been no trace of either.
Maarten's family has offered Rs 25,000 to anyone who can provide information about him.
"At least three people have come to me asking for help to search for their missing relatives," says Venu Gopal. "They take odd trekking routes, don't inform police about their stay, and trek during bad weather."
There are government guidelines for trekking, but very few bothers to obey these. "They should only check into registered guesthouses and hotels. And they should only take the assistance of recognised porters and guides," the officer elaborates.
Admits a senior district official, "Some of these missing cases are connected to the flourishing drug trade."
Drug, the biggest tragedy of this valley. It translates into wild-growing cannabis which provides quality hashish, ganja, and bhang. Opium cultivation that adds to the variety. Remote villages that sell these at unbelievably cheap prices. And, yes, addicts who form Kullu's backdrop.
ON TO PART 2
This way to Malana... no police, no laws
Photographs: Josy Joseph
Page design: Dominic Xavier
Valley of Vice | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |Part 4