A Russian man was found begging at the entrance of Sri Kumarakottam Murugan temple in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram on Tuesday.
The 24-year- old, identified as A. Evangelin, had a valid passport and visa and arrived in Kancheepuram on Tuesday morning from Chennai. He visited a few temples in the area, before going to an ATM kiosk near the Kumarakottam temple where he reportedly entered the PIN wrongly several times, getting his ATM Card locked. An apparently frustrated Evangelin sat at the entrance of the temple along with other destitutes, begging for alms at the temple entrance, reports The Hindu.
However, devotees noticed the odd event and informed the police of the development. The police brought him to the station and perused his travel documents.
According to The Deccan Chronicle, the Russian ran out of money so he sat near temple begging for alms.
“We checked his travel documents, passport and visa. All documents are perfectly valid. He had spent all his money and was not sure how to reach Chennai,” a police officer told Deccan Chronicle. The police gave him Rs 500 and put him on a suburban train to Chennai, where he was asked to approach the Russian embassy in the capital city.
The matter also came to the notice of External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who quickly instructed the officials at Chennai to provide all help to the distressed Russian tourist. Taking to Twitter, Swaraj hailed Russia as a time tested friend and assured all help to him.
Evangelin – Your country Russia is our time tested friend. My officials in Chennai will provide you all help. https://t.co/6bPv7MFomI
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) October 10, 2017
The minister has long used social media to come to the aid of those in need of help, including those living across the border. Notedly, she is the most followed woman political leader on Twitter.
