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Toronto, Canada
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While the rape and murder of Scarlett Keeling has led
to Britain updating its travel advisory to Goa, on
March 7, other countries like the US, Japan, Russia
and Israel have all separately questioned the Goa
Tourism Ministry with concern.
Foreign offices of the above countries have written to
the Goa Tourism Minister Mickey Pacheco asking why
they shouldnt issue travel advisories declaring Goa
unsafe.
In the wake of frequent foreigner deaths, and with
causes of over 50 such deaths in the last five years
still remaining a mystery (still awaiting laboratory
reports), and reports of a thriving drug mafia, Im
being asked questions about action taken.
The foreign offices of Britain, US, Japan, Russia and
Israel have all written to me about Goa turning into a
unsafe tourist destination, Pacheco told Sunday MiD
DAY.
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) in
London has already dashed cautionary messages to their
clients traveling to foreign countries.
Pachecho added that he would constitute a tourism task
force to allay their fears. And while the tourism
ministry is trying its best to prevent Goas image
from being maligned as an unsafe destination, the home
ministry in Goa has blamed the tourists themselves.
With the Scarlett case generating interest with
questions being asked, not just about the deceased,
but now also about her mother Fionas past the Goa
government does not have a clear answer.
However, Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat does not
think tourism will be affected due to a few isolated
cases, which, he said, had been blown out of
proportion by the media. Talking to Sunday MiD DAY, he
said, Goa has always attracted tourists from
different parts of the world and is safe as always.
Kamat had earlier controversially said that foreign
women tourists had to be careful, and that they
couldnt just do these things and then blame the
government for the consequences. On this, he clarified
that all he meant was that as we take precautions
when visiting a foreign country, tourists visiting Goa
needed to be cautious too.
Meanwhile Goa home minister Ravi Naik told Sunday MiD
DAY that he was in the possession of a criminal
investigation department (CID) report which
highlighted the fact that foreign tourists wore beach
outfits even while walking down the Anjuna market road
stretch.
These foreigners also use their children as carriers
to transport drugs, Naik said, blaming Fiona Mackewon
of using her children for the purpose. The home
minister accused Scarletts mother Fiona of having
drugs on her while making a trip to Karnataka. This
will soon be proved, he said. Fiona has denied this.
Though Naik, who has been accused by Fiona of trying
to hush up the case to protect a few influential
people (read drug mafia), refuses to acknowledge that
Goa has turned into a hotspot for the drug cartel, he
claims that it was always the tourists who were
involved. The involvement of tourists is evident from
the fact that nearly half of the people arrested in
narcotics cases are foreigners, he said.
The inspector general of Goa Kishan Kumar said, In
2007, the death toll from drug abuse was 59. And 55
foreigners died in the previous year, Kumar said.
Records however reveal that in half the cases,
touching 350 in the last five years, the cause of
death still remains unknown since the viscera report
is yet to received.
In 2008, the number of cases sent for viscera
analysis is six of twelve deaths, the head of
forensic medicine, Goa Medical College (GMC) Dr
Silvano Sapeco said. All the cases were referred to
laboratories in Hyderabad and Mumbai, because drug
abuse was suspected.
All these cases pertain to foreigners, Sapeco said.
The viscera report establishes whether death was due
to presence of drugs or poison in the stomach. Goa
does not have such a laboratory. Till reports arrive,
it is difficult to invoke Section 302 of the Indian
Penal Code (murder), Nerlon Albuquerque, the police
official suspended in the Keeling case, said.
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