CALANGUTE, March 16 -- Team Herald

Three tourists from Odisha were allegedly assaulted and molested by a large group of tattoo artists and touts at the Calangute promenade on Friday evening.

The tourists - Dev P, his wife Rashmi, and his brother Arun Kumar - said they had driven down from Odisha and arrived in Calangute on Friday afternoon. After checking in, they headed to the beach. While walking along the promenade, a man offered Dev a tattoo, which he declined. Despite his refusal, the man persisted, put his arm around Dev, and forcibly dragged him into a nearby tattoo shop.

"When I refused to get a tattoo, they started assaulting me," Dev recounted. "Soon we were surrounded by 15-20 people, and when we tried to leave, the number s...