<p>Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar on Thursday dubbed five youths who allegedly gang-raped two women tourists from Delhi as "nadaan" (naive) and "small-time criminals".<br /><br /></p>.<p>He, however, said he regretted the crime in the tourism-oriented coastal belt, and tried to assure tourists that the incident was an aberration.<br /><br />"The boys are 'nadaan' and have cases of small crimes registered against them. This will not happen in the future," Parulekar told reporters here. <br /><br />"I regret the incident which happened in Goa. The character of the boys involved in the rape of the women is not good. They were working in a hotel; and whichever hotel they worked in, they were booked for small-time robberies," the minister said.<br /><br />Five people were arrested on Tuesday for posing as policemen and then abducting, beating and sexually assaulting two young women tourists from Delhi who were holidaying at a popular beach stretch in Goa, police said on Wednesday.<br /><br />The two women told the police that they were raped through Monday night and Tuesday before a police team rescued them. Police reached the spot after the driver of a taxi the women were riding in complained to the police.<br /><br />Parulekar also praised the police's prompt response and arrests within seven to eight hours.<br /><br />"Tourists should not think that these things are common in Goa," the minister said.<br />Goa, a top beach tourism destination in India, attracts over three million tourists annually. However, several high-profile crimes against women over the past few years have put Goa in a negative light.</p>
<p>Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar on Thursday dubbed five youths who allegedly gang-raped two women tourists from Delhi as "nadaan" (naive) and "small-time criminals".<br /><br /></p>.<p>He, however, said he regretted the crime in the tourism-oriented coastal belt, and tried to assure tourists that the incident was an aberration.<br /><br />"The boys are 'nadaan' and have cases of small crimes registered against them. This will not happen in the future," Parulekar told reporters here. <br /><br />"I regret the incident which happened in Goa. The character of the boys involved in the rape of the women is not good. They were working in a hotel; and whichever hotel they worked in, they were booked for small-time robberies," the minister said.<br /><br />Five people were arrested on Tuesday for posing as policemen and then abducting, beating and sexually assaulting two young women tourists from Delhi who were holidaying at a popular beach stretch in Goa, police said on Wednesday.<br /><br />The two women told the police that they were raped through Monday night and Tuesday before a police team rescued them. Police reached the spot after the driver of a taxi the women were riding in complained to the police.<br /><br />Parulekar also praised the police's prompt response and arrests within seven to eight hours.<br /><br />"Tourists should not think that these things are common in Goa," the minister said.<br />Goa, a top beach tourism destination in India, attracts over three million tourists annually. However, several high-profile crimes against women over the past few years have put Goa in a negative light.</p>