From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Jan 26: A Goan lady has claimed that her fiancee was beaten up by mob in presence of Calangute police merely because he was of African origin. Susan Vaz, who runs a restaurant at Calangute, told mediapersons that her fiancée, Luck Oneya Cholem, was badly assaulted over a petty issue of accident.

“He was assaulted because he is African,” she alleged adding that even policemen who were called for the help assaulted him in public on January 22.

Vaz has said that even her restaurant, famous for African cousin, was damaged by the mob.

She said that the incident triggered after a autorickshaw banged against the car driven by her fiancée next to their restaurant. “Autorickshaw driver called his friends who started assaulting Luck,” Vaz claimed.

She said that Calangute police who came on the scene did not do anything to stop the mob from rampaging her restaurant. “In fact, they wanted to arrest my fiancée who was badly beaten up by them,” she added.

Police complaint has been filed in this regards with the Calangute police. Vaz said that she has even given CCTV footage of the incident which shows policemen assaulting her fiancée and mob pelting stones on the restaurant.

When contacted police spokesman Atmaram Deshpande ruled out that it was a racist attack. “What we have gathered is that there was accident between two vehicles which resulted in the trouble,” he said adding that even the African national called his friends which complicated the situation.