MAPUSA
Anjuna Police are on the lookout for more accused persons involved in the assault of the two Indian tourists in a Siolim night club even as sections of rioting have been added to the case. Police have already arrested two accused in the matter.
Meanwhile, a Mapusa court has granted two-day police remand to the two accused. "We have come to know that more than five persons were involved in the attack against the tourists. We are investigating the matter and soon more arrests will be made," said Jivba Dalvi, Mapusa SDPO.
It may be recalled, two tourists from Karnataka were badly beaten up by security bouncers in the parking lot of the popular night club in Siolim, early Sunday morning, over a trivial issue of the tourists' car slightly touching a parked two-wheeler. The accused beat up the tourists and even extorted Rs 5,000 from them as compensation for the damage to the two-wheeler.
Police sources informed that since there were no CCTV cameras in the parking lot, the process of identifying the other accused was underway. Police have also identified some suspects who were summoned for investigation. Meanwhile, the two tourists were doing well and are still in Goa, police said.
Rising crimes against tourists
There have been concerns about crimes against tourists, especially in nightlife hubs. Just last month, two bouncers were arrested for assaulting a Pune tourist, Nitesh Kharr, in a club over the use of the ladies' washroom. Not Kharr alone, his friends Aryan Shrivastava, Ruchir Gupta, and Gautam Nagarkar, were also beaten up. The crime was to an extent that an unknown person even smashed a glass bottle on Kharr's forehead.
Besides, there have been complaints of tourists being lured into deceptive situations in clubs, wherein they are promised company but end up losing money to illegal operators. Some tourists reported to the police that unknown girls/women ask for drinks, enjoy themselves in the club's drink and dance areas, and then vanish without making any payments. Subsequently, club bouncers either demand payment from the male tourists or resort to violence.
In addition to these concerns, sex-tortion is on the rise in the coastal belt. Harish Hemnani, a prime suspect in several sex-tortion cases under investigation, was recently arrested by crime branch, marking the fifth arrest in this ongoing case. The department had also set up a special team headed by DIG Aslam Khan to probe into the crime.
In August, the police arrested three persons, including two women, on charges of extorting money from businessmen by threatening to file false rape cases against tourists.
