By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Two tourists from West Bengal were severely assaulted in full public view when the public rally organized on KSU on occasion of Khasi National Awakening Day turned violent on Thursday.
The two tourists – Britesh Sinha and Arup Kundu – were roughed up at Laitumkhrah following which they had to be shifted to a city hospital for treatment.
Speaking to The Shillong Times from his hospital bed, Arup Kundu said, “We had nothing to do with these people but they just assaulted us.”
According to Kundu, he and his two friends were seeking directions to Police Bazar from a traffic police constable when a group of boys appeared with sticks and started beating them.
“My friend Britesh Sinha was hit with a stone on his head while I was beaten up for unknown reasons,” he said.
“We tried to enter a shop nearby to save ourselves but the shopkeeper said he was closing down and we were left exposed to the attack,” he said.
Asked if he would visit Shillong again, Kundu said, “Now there will always be a fear in coming here.”
The attack on the tourists is seen as an embarrassment for the Government and particularly the Tourism Department.