Second Briton Found Dead in State in a Fortnight


Pamela Timms/Telegraph

Panaji, Mar 4: A second British tourist has been found dead in mysterious circumstances in the Indian tropical paradise resort of Goa.

Michael Harvey, 34, was found dead on Sunday in a backpacker shack at a remote palm-fringed beach notorious for drugs-fuelled rave parties.

An autopsy report revealed that Mr Harvey had died from a pulmonary and cerebral oedema, but detectives are now investigating whether drugs or violence could have played a part in his death.

His body was found in his room on Aswem beach two weeks after 15 year-old Scarlett Keeling was found dead in shallow waters off the hippy resort of Anjuna.

Police initially said she had drowned, but detectives were forced to reopen their inquiry after her mother claimed she had been murdered.

The teenager had been left alone in Anjuna while her mother and family travelled in a neighbouring state.

Her mother Fiona MacKeown claims her daughter had been raped and murdered.

She said police had overlooked key parts of an autopsy report which revealed scratches, bruises from a blunt weapon, and the absence of water in her lungs.

The test also revealed she had had sex shortly before her death.

Local witnesses said she was last seen on February 18th with a Spanish friend at Lui's bar, which she left at 4am with a barman.

Witnesses said she was drunk and at one point unable to stand.

These latest deaths follow the murder last year of British tourist Stephen Bennett, who went missing while holidaying in Goa and was later found hanging from a mango tree in neighbouring Maharashtra.

Detectives claimed he had been beaten to death by villagers when he harassed a local woman.

They were later agreed to revisit their inquiry after protests from Mr Bennett's family who said he was being stalked by local drugs gangs.

Last month, Martin Fraser, another British tourist, was found dead by police who said he had drowned, but his family said his body bore scratch marks which suggested he too had been attacked.

These violent attacks on British tourists have tarnished the reputation of Goa, a former Portuguese enclave famed for its relaxed, peaceful atmosphere.

In the last few years, Russian and Israeli mafia gangs have fought with local villains for control of Goa's increasingly lucrative drugs and rave club scenes while corruption among the state's police is rife. 

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