Thiruvananthapuram:
The Kerala government has said an investigation would be conducted into a report of "sexual harassment" of a mother-daughter duo by volunteers of a forest protection committee at a tourist spot in Achankovil forest range in Kollam District.
Both police and forest vigilance would probe the alleged incident, Forest Minister Binoy Viswam told the Assembly in reply to a submission by Congress member V D Satheeshan.
If the report that appeared in a news portal was correct it was shocking, he said.
Sateeshan said the online report has alleged that two domestic tourists - a woman and her teenage daughters - were recently sexually harassed by volunteers of Vana Samrakshna Samithi, a community organisation set up by the government to protect forests. According to the report, the VSS volunteers also threatened them with dire consequences if they complained to police about the incident, he said.
Action should be taken against the culprits if the report was correct, else stringent action should be taken against the portal for publishing the news item that would cause damage to the tourism sector in the state, Sateeshan said.
Both police and forest vigilance would probe the alleged incident, Forest Minister Binoy Viswam told the Assembly in reply to a submission by Congress member V D Satheeshan.
If the report that appeared in a news portal was correct it was shocking, he said.
Sateeshan said the online report has alleged that two domestic tourists - a woman and her teenage daughters - were recently sexually harassed by volunteers of Vana Samrakshna Samithi, a community organisation set up by the government to protect forests. According to the report, the VSS volunteers also threatened them with dire consequences if they complained to police about the incident, he said.
Action should be taken against the culprits if the report was correct, else stringent action should be taken against the portal for publishing the news item that would cause damage to the tourism sector in the state, Sateeshan said.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
