Kin of ten foreign tourists who died in Goa write to PM for SC probe

Panaji, May 30

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Kin of about ten foreign tourists “killed” in Goa have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding a probe by a Supreme Court judge into the deaths as well as the “cover up” by the police.

They have also alleged that a nexus existed between the locals, the police, drug mafia and politicians in the coastal state.

The letter has been written by a group of foreigners, including Fiona MacKeown whose daughter Scarlett Eden Keeling was found dead at Anjuna beach in 2008, besides the family members of those foreign nationals who have lost their lives here over a period of time.

“Since the killing of our relatives, the deaths have continued with at least one tourist on average dying each week in Goa and also many locals have lost their lives. In many of these killings, whether tourists or locals, the same criminals appear to be involved,” claimed the letter which was delivered to the PMO on May 25.

The authors of the letter demanded an “unbiased and independent” investigation into the deaths “to reveal the connections between the locals, the police in Goa, drug mafia and politicians and their involvement in the deaths”.

“We request a commission led by a Supreme Court judge to analyse the probe into the deaths of Caitanya Holt, Felix Dahl, James Durkin, Kyle Arndt, Scarlett Keeling, Denyse Sweeney, Stephen Bennett, Martin Neighbour, Michael Harvey and Jonathan Burbank to ensure an unbiased and comprehensive investigation to reveal the truth about their deaths,” a source said today quoting the letter.

The letter was signed by Minna Pirhonen, the mother of Felix Dahl who died in Goa in 2015, Parvati Dasi, the mother of a US national Caitanya Holt who was killed by a mob near Morjim beach in 2016, and Amanda Bennett, the sister of Stephen Bennett who was found dead in the neighbouring Maharashtra.

“The quality of the work of the police in Goa should be investigated. Instead of investigating the murders and killings, the local police want to cover up the truth,” it alleged. — PTI