Russian woman detained in Kovalam for staying at homestay without valid documents

Kovalam: A 44-year-old Russian woman was taken into custody by the Kovalam police for allegedly staying at a homestay without valid documents for the past three months.

The woman, identified as Anna Alekseeva, was taken into custody by a police team led by the Kovalam SHO from the homestay where she had been staying.

According to police, Alekseeva had been staying for the past three months at a homestay run by a man named Hussain in Kovalam.

The police had been conducting inspections after finding that hotel owners and homestay operators were allegedly delaying the submission of information about foreign nationals staying in Kovalam to the police station. It was during one such inspection that the Russian woman was found.

Police found that Alekseeva had previously visited and stayed at the same homestay in 2019. She later stayed in Goa, where she is said to have married a man named Peter.

She had been staying in Kovalam for the past three months without a passport, visa or other relevant documents, police said.

There is also unconfirmed information that Alekseeva had migrated to Russia from Uzbekistan. Police are seeking further details about her background and stay in India.

The woman was also taken to the Foreigners Regional Registration (FRR) office for verification.

The Kovalam police will register a case against Hussain, the homestay operator, for allegedly failing to inform the police about the foreign national’s stay, SHO Sheena said.

Police said further inquiries are underway to establish more details about the woman and her stay in Kovalam.