Calangute: The Shack Owners Welfare Society (SOWS) on Saturday claimed that the assault of Bengaluru tourists by beach shack workers at Calangute last Tuesday happened after they were found to be harassing a Russian tourist lounging on a beach bed.SOWS general secretary John Lobo said the entire incident is clear from the CCTV footage and demanded that the police register a complaint against the tourists.In a video provided by the SOWS, the Russian woman is seen explaining that she was sitting on a deck bed when the drunk tourist approached her. The woman said that as she was uncomfortable, she tried to tell him to go away. Looking at her discomfort, one of the shack staff came to her aid and tried to persuade the tourist to stop harassing her. This led to a verbal altercation.“He went away and came back with five-six friends, lifted a beach umbrella and started hitting the staff. Looking at this the other staff started fighting with the tourists. Because of this, my friends who were close by told me to leave the place. Afterwards I came to know that the staff were arrested for no fault of theirs,” the Russian woman said.The SOWS has provided clippings from the CCTV footage which appear to corroborate her story. Following the incident where one of the tourists sustained serious head injuries, three of the shack workers were arrested and the popular shack’s licence was suspended.
