Panaji: Request for a proper parking space in Calangute turned into a dispute and violence on Diwali day yesterday when two local tourist taxi drivers attacked a Pune family.
The victims, who were on a visit to Goa for Diwali, had parked near St Anthony's Chapel. They asked one driver to move his car, a request which led to verbal abuse followed by a physical confrontation. The drivers assaulted the family after which the latter reported the incident to the Calangute police.
Nazia Shaikh, one of the victims, claimed that the driver appeared to be drunk during the incident.
“We just wanted to leave for dinner, but the driver got angry and started yelling at us. Then another driver joined him, and they both attacked us," she recalled.
The altercation lasted about ten minutes, and the attackers fled when the family began recording the incident.
One of the taxi drivers, Peter Philip Noronha, early this morning while search for the second driver is ongoing.
