The management of a Goa hotel where a Delhi-based family was allegedly assaulted blamed the guests saying they started the fight.

The members of the family holidaying in the coastal state were attacked at the famous Anjuna beach by a group of people armed with a knife and other weapons, the police had said on Monday. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.

Police have arrested five persons for the attack that left members of both groups injured.

In a media release, Spazio Leisure Resort said that complainant Ashwani Kumar and other members of his group were found violating the no-smoking policy by smoking hookah by the side of the swimming pool.

It said the guests got abusive and used “derogatory expletives” when told to stop smoking hookah. “One Jatin Sharma even manhandled a hotel staff member by pushing him around and threatened that he leave the hotel immediately, else they want a full refund for spoiling their holiday mood,” said the hotel on Wednesday.

To pacify the guests, the hotel said, the staffers were asked to remain off duty. The staff member and his brother returned in the evening to collect his mobile charger and remained on the road outside, it said.

When Ashwani Kumar spotted the two on the road, he started an argument with them, “clicking their photograph which was unwarranted”, the hotel management said. He verbally abused “the boys using derogatory expletives at the top of his voice which attracted the attention of his group members, who all at once came running to the public road from inside the hotel”, said the hotel.

“Eyewitnesses on the public road witnessed Mr Jatin Sharma and his group thrashing the hotel staff member on the roadside gutter, by hitting him with stones and punches,” the management has said.

The hotel said many of its staffers and locals tried to stop the fight. Jatin Sharma is also seen in CCTV footage removing his gold chain from around his neck and handing it over to his mother before heading out to join the fight again, it said.

“Unfortunately, this fight ended in both parties being injured. As per video evidence which has been submitted to the Anjuna police and eyewitnesses, there were no swords and no local gangs that gathered outside the hotel on the public road, as claimed in media,” it added.

The management said the complainants continued staying in the hotel for the next 24 hours after the clash.

The assailants rained blows on the complainant and his kin, leaving them injured, as per the First Information Report (FIR).

Earlier, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said, "We will not tolerate any violation of law and order. The law would be strictly enforced. Any illegal act in the tourism business won't be tolerated." Sawant had said people in the tourism industry should verify the background of job aspirants before employing them.

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