Thaindian News

Panaji, Jan 25 (IANS) The owner of a restaurant serving African cuisine - a rarity in Goa - Tuesday complained of arson and assault by the police and locals, claiming her establishment was attacked as it was frequented by African nationals.Addressing a press conference here, Susan Vaz, who runs a restaurant named Luckees in Calangute, 15 km from Panaji, said her restaurant was targeted Jan 22 because it was frequented by African nationals.

“To my knowledge, we are the only restaurant serving genuine African cuisine and a lot of Africans frequent our place. It seems like a racist attack because last year we were warned against operating the restaurant because ‘blacks’ used to frequent it,” Susan said.

A mob of locals attacked the place with stones and sticks Jan 22 after an autorickshaw driver rammed into a car parked outside the restaurant by a patron.

“Not just the locals, even the police who arrived at the scene beat up my fiance Luck Oneya Cholem, who’s a Nigerian, when we were the aggrieved party,” Susan said.

Susan said the police refused to incorporate parts about their beating up her fiance in her statement which was recorded after the incident.

“I have filed a complaint with the district superintendent. I also have CCTV footage to back my allegation,” she said.

Goa, which is in the news often for inbound tourists from Europe and Russia, is also home for several foreign nationals from Africa. In recent times, more than a score of nationals of African origin, mainly from Nigeria, were caught for overstaying in India on forged travel documents.