Merces (Goa): The situation turned tense when a fierce fight broke out between two groups of locals and Mumbai tourists in the middle of a busy road at Merces, in the outskirts of Panjim this morning. The Old Goa police have arrested three locals, who instigated the fight and attacked a tourist bus with deadly weapons like koita. The incident occurred at a restaurant when one of the tourists warned Lawrence not to hit him with his elbow. “The tourists had halted at a restaurant at Merces for breakfast. Lawrence was sitting behind them when he knocked the tourist with his elbow. The tourist asked Lawrence to keep distance and he (latter) apologized. The tourists left in the bus they were travelling in,” said SDPO Nelson Albuquerque.
However, a revengeful Lawrence called his friends Vishal and Suraj who reached the spot with the weapons to attack the tourists. They chased the Maharashtra-registration tourist bus and attacked the passengers. This resulted into a major fight between the two groups in which 11 tourists and the trio accused were injured while three suffered fractures. All the three accused, who are, otherwise too, facing criminal charges in other cases, are arrested for attempt to murder.
The incident comes close on the heels of tourist taxi row with the visitors complaining of the rudeness of the taxi drivers and charging of inflated fares. Earlier this month, another scuffle between a group of tourists and a taxi driver had occurred at Mapusa bus stand.

Team TNV