Goa chief rounds on naive female tourists in wake of deaths [image: Scarlett Keeling 15,Had drowned (veli-matti porkka)]
(veli-matti porkka) Scarlett Keeling, whose family claims she was raped and murdered Jeremy Page, Goa The controversy surrounding the death of a British teenager in Goa deepened today after the state's government chief accused foreign women of behaving naively and irresponsibly when visiting the Indian tourist haven. Police also revealed today that another British citizen, 34-year-old Michael Harvey, had been found dead in Goa on Saturday, taking the number of Britons who have died in the state this year to 10. The British High Commission said that of those, four died from unnatural causes, adding that a further 40 British citizens died in Goa in 2007 from both natural and unnatural causes. The two cases have highlighted the seedier side of Goa, whose pristine beaches and drug-fuelled dance parties attracted 2.2 million tourists last year alone, including some 200,000 Britons. But Digambar Kamat, Goa's Chief Minister, defended his Government's security record as he prepared to meet Fiona MacKeown, who accuses local police of covering up the rape and murder of her 15-year-old daughter, Scarlett Keeling. "Foreign tourists have to be careful," Mr Kamat told The Times. "They can't just do these things and then blame the government for the consequences. You can't expect the government to provide police on the beaches after midnight." He warned foreign women in Goa to avoid "insecure places" and to take "precautions", while declining to define either term. "When you come to Goa, you must realise that you are a guest in this state," he said. Scarlett had been left with a local tour guide while Mrs MacKeown visited the state of Karnataka and was last seen leaving a bar on Anjuna beach in a state of intoxication with a barman at around 4am, police say. Mrs MacKeown, a mother of eight from Devon, said she was initially upset by Mr Kamat's comments. "If they're saying it's dangerous for British people, then it's the Government's responsibility to warn people," she said. "There should be signs up, but there aren't. Instead, it's advertised as a hippy paradise, so you don't feel it's dangerous when you walk around." But she said that Mr Kamat was sympathetic when she met him today and showed him photographs of Scarlett's body, also seen by The Times, which show severe bruising on her face, neck and shins. "I'm relieved that he's listening and seems to be taking it seriously," she said. She has also appealed for information from a British citizen who several foreigners in Anjuna say witnessed her daughter's rape and fled the state immediately for fear of his life. But foreign residents of Anjuna said he and another possible witness were unlikely to come forward because they were afraid of the police and the locals who control the drugs trade. They said locals working in the bars and cafes along Anjuna beach had been supplying young foreign women with cocaine and MDMA and then trying to have sex with them - often by force. "The girls never report it because if they're wasted, no one's going to believe them," said one long-term British resident. "These guys shouldn't get away with it, even if that girl had taken lots of drugs." The initial autopsy on Scarlett concluded that she drowned and police had been ready to close the case until Mrs MacKeown protested to top state officials. Bosco George, the Superintendent of Police for North Goa, said police would decide whether to open a criminal case after a second autopsy in the next two days. He also said that Mr Harvey - the other dead British citizen -- was discovered on Saturday at a guesthouse near Ashwem beach, another popular backpacker haunt half an hour's drive from Anjuna. A post-mortem examination showed that Mr Harvey, who was found on his bed wearing only a pair of shorts, died of pulmonary and cerebral oedema, he said. "As of now, we do not suspect any foul play," he said. However, police had sent blood and other samples to be tested for alcohol and narcotics at a forensic laboratory and would not close the case before receiving the results, he added. Staff at Laura's guesthouse, where Mr Harvey was staying, said he checked in on February 29 and was due to fly back to Britain on March 16. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3485043.ece -- -- DEV BOREM KORUM. Gabe Menezes. London, England