Sri Vijaya Puram | March 6, 2026
A case of alleged assault, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, robbery and damage to a foreign tourist’s camera has been reported from Ramnagar Beach in Diglipur, under Kalighat Police Station in North and Middle Andaman district, raising concerns over tourist safety in the northern region of the islands.
According to an FIR registered at Kalighat Police Station, a 58-year-old tourist from the Czech Republic, Mr. Daniel Dedera, a retired teacher, alleged that he was assaulted by three unidentified men while visiting Ramnagar Beach on March 4, 2026.
As per the complaint, Mr. Dedera arrived in India on January 13, 2026, and reached the Andaman and Nicobar Islands around January 15 for tourism. He travelled from Mayabunder to Diglipur on March 3 and checked into Landfall Hotel at Arial Bay, Diglipur.
On March 4, the tourist reportedly rented a motorcycle around 1 PM from a shop at Dolphin Chowk, Diglipur, and proceeded to Ramnagar Beach for sightseeing. According to the FIR, the alleged incident occurred later in the afternoon between 2:30 PM and 3:30 PM.
The complainant stated that while he was walking along the right side of the shore and taking photographs with a dark-brown Sony handicam, two men who had been inside a nearby closed hut approached him aggressively and questioned him about taking photographs. When he offered to show them the pictures he had taken, the men allegedly refused and snatched the handicam, removed its batteries and deliberately broke the device.
When the tourist protested and suggested going to the police, the two men allegedly grabbed him and dragged him into a nearby hut that was closed on all sides, where they continued arguing with him. During the confrontation, they reportedly claimed that they themselves were the “chief police.”
According to the complaint, a third man came out of the water and joined the two men. The tourist alleged that while two of the men stood at the doorway preventing him from leaving, the third assaulted him inside the hut. He further stated that all three men appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.
The complainant said he eventually managed to escape from the hut and ran towards the centre of the beach, where he noticed police personnel standing nearby and immediately informed them about the incident. Police personnel reportedly accompanied him back to the spot, but by then the three men had fled the area along with the broken handicam, and neither the accused nor the camera could be located.
Based on the complaint, Kalighat Police registered a case under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Sections 309(4), 115(2), 126(2), 351, 3(5) and 324.
Tourist footfall in the North and Middle Andaman region has already declined in recent times due to factors such as the poor condition of National Highway-4 and limited connectivity. Incidents involving tourists could further discourage visitors from exploring the northern parts of the islands, despite the region having immense tourism potential.
