- Title: INDIA: Murder of young Brit will not affect tourism - Goa state chief
- Date: 11th March 2008
- Summary: (BN08) PANJIM, GOA, INDIA (MARCH 11, 2008) (ANI-ACCESS ALL) SIGN READING 'CHIEF MINISTER RESIDENCE' (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIGAMBAR KAMATH, STATE CHIEF, GOA, SAYING: "We have 2.5 million tourists visiting the state. When such a large number of tourists visit a state, if one or two incidents take place of such nature, there is no need to blow it out of proportion. Right in the beginning, we made it clear that government if there is a foul play, as suspected by the mother of this girl, we said we will go to the root cause of this case." CAR PARKED OUTSIDE RESIDENCE OF GOA CHIEF MINISTER, DIGAMBAR KAMATH (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIGAMBAR KAMATH, STATE CHIEF, GOA, SAYING: "Lots of other things must be happening in other places also, which we don't even come to know and if Indian people go abroad and all what happens, we know, and here, just before any conclusion also, the way some of the media channels started bringing it out that Goa is unsafe, Goa is unsafe. I personally don't think that it will have an impact on Goa's tourism. People who come to Goa have always gone back to Goa with sweet memories about Goa." GOA CHIEF MINISTER, DIGAMBAR KAMATH, GETTING INTO CAR AND BEING DRIVEN OFF
- Embargoed: 26th March 2008 18:39
- Keywords:
- Location: India
- Country: India
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA4WG2UZY5HNOIDDQCEQI8WGYNR
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: The Chief Minister of Goa says the mysterious murder of a British girl will not put tourists off travelling to the popular destination.
The chief minister of Goa has been defending the state's safety record after the murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling.
Media attention in the case has raised concerns about how safe Goa is for tourists.
But Goa chief, Digambar Kamath says there is no need to blow what happened out of proportion.
Talking to media in Panaji on Tuesday (March 11), Kamath discounted trade analysts and agents who said Goa 's tourism sector may be affected as more details about the alleged rape and murder case of the 15-year-old British girl unfolded.
Kamath said Goa welcomed 2.5 million tourists a year.
"When such a large number of tourists visit a state, if one or two incidents take place of such a nature, there is no need to blow it out of proportion" he said.
He was adamant the government would get to the root of the cause of the girl's killing.
Upset over media reports following Scarlett's murder, the state chief said that such incidents are not new and have been taking place in other tourist destinations. But they didn't always make such big headlines.
And he was confident tourists would not be put off.
People who visit Goa always have sweet memories about the place, he said.
Meanwhile, Scarlett's mother, Fiona MacKeown, has demanded for a probe by India's top investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into her daughter's death. Originally, Indian authorities had reported that Scarlett drowned after taking drugs. Later, however, they said a second autopsy revealed injuries that indicated murder.
Police have arrested three people in connection with the murder. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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