Angry neighbours virtually laid siege to a guest house in Guwahati’s Beltola area on Monday after five Europeans had checked in.
The police had to intervene for the people to leave the five — three French, an Italian and a Spanish — alone.
“The foreign nationals reached Guwahati from Manipur. They completed their quarantine in Manipur and have the approval of the Ministry of External Affairs to travel to Delhi via Siliguri (West Bengal),” Assam’s Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) G.P. Singh said, assuring the people there was no need to panic.
There had been reports of foreigners being turned away from hotels or misbehaved with after the 76-year-old American tourist, who spent a week on a river cruise in Assam, tested positive on the next leg of his journey in adjoining Bhutan more than a month ago.
State tourism officials and tour operators have advised restraint while dealing with foreign tourists. They said an antagonist attitude could harm Assam’s tourist-friendly image in the long run.
