Goan officials insist that the place is no more dangerous than other popular beach resorts.

Since the 1960s, when the first hippies arrived with their tie-dye and LSD, Goa has been renowned for its pristine beaches, cosmopolitan atmosphere and plentiful supply of narcotics.

But the suspected rape and murder of Scarlett Keeling, a 15-year-old British girl found dead last month on the famous Anjuna beach, has now shattered the Indian state’s reputation as a “hippy paradise”, free of worldly evils.

Goan officials and many long term foreign residents were quick to blame Fiona MacKeown, Scarlett’s mother, for leaving her alone in Anjuna. They insist that the place is no more dangerous than other popular beach resorts.

Statistics from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office show that 40 British citizens died in Goa last year and ten have died so far this year, but 60 per cent of those were from natural causes. They include many British pensioners who have retired to Goa in recent years.


Source: PTI