Anjuna locals demand registration of case against Delhi tourist

Mapusa: Extending support to the local youth, who have been accused of brutally assaulting a Delhi tourist, residents of Anjuna on Thursday expressed their displeasure with the Anjuna police for not registering a first information report (FIR) against the tourist on the complaint of the local youth, who were also injured in the assault.

They said that if an FIR is not registered against the tourist by Monday, they will approach the Director General of Police (DGP) over the issue on Tuesday.

It may be noted that the Anjuna police had on Sunday arrested three persons in connection with an assault on a Delhi family that was in Goa on a holiday. The assault was a result of a quarrel that had taken place between resort staff and the tourists in the resort where the tourists had checked in.

Anjuna locals gathered on Thursday and condemned the unfortunate incident stating that the local staff of the resort was first assaulted by the tourists.  Addressing media persons, sarpanch of Anjuna-Caisua village panchayat Laxmikant Chimulkar, locals Gajanan Tilve, Yogesh Govekar and others extended support to the local youth and said the Delhi tourist had abused the resort staff and assaulted them.

They said the tourist narrated a one-sided story on social media by posting fabricated videos.

“Although this incident is unfortunate, it is not the fault of the resort staff. A wrong message was sent across about Goa through the video, which was released by the tourists,” said Tilve.

He further said that on the day of the incident (March 5), the staff of the resort had filed a police complaint against the tourists. However, the police have not yet registered any FIR, he said. “As our locals were also injured and were treated at the North Goa District Hospital, we demand that the police take action against the tourist also,” he said. 

Stating that tourists are welcome to Goa, the Anjuna locals, however, said they should behave properly when in the state. “We respect the adage ‘atithi devo bhava’ but tourists should not break the law in Goa by drinking alcohol,” they said.