GOKARNA (UTTARA KANNADA) : The Gokarna police have arrested two persons for assaulting a foreign national over a trivial issue. An American who was visiting the town and was staying at a rented accommodation was attacked and injured by the two, who were staying next to him at the same place.
The American tourist, Charles Martin Whyte (44), a resident of Manchester, stated in his police complaint that he was disturbed by his neighbours on the night of December 20.
“I was woken up by a loud noise and music on December 20 in the wee hours around 3 am. I too put on my choice of music and slept off. I got a knock on the door after sometime. It was my neighbours -- Pandu and Nitish. They asked ne to stop the music as it was disturbing their sleep.
When I asked them to turn off the music they have put on in return. There ensued an argument and in the process one person hit me with a hard block,” he said.
‘Attackers worked at a cafe’
After the incident, the attackers went missing and the complainant was admitted to the Kumta Government Hospital. He stated in the complaint that he has a crack in the cheek bone and his eye was swollen.
The police said the attackers worked at a cafe nearby. “The premises were given out on monthly rent. The foreigner paid Rs 8,000, while his neighbours Rs 4,000,” Gokarna Police Inspector Sridhar told the TNIE. The American guest -- an artist and a musician -- arrived in Gokarna on November 30.