By IANS,
Panaji : Even as the death of Australian tourist John Kelly questioned Goa’s credentials as a safe tourist destination, the Goa police Thursday claimed they had not delayed in taking action in the case.
The police say John Kelly was involved in a brawl with the employees of Club City, a popular bar and restaurant at coastal Goa’s tourism nerve centre, Calangute. The incident occurred at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.
The post-mortem examination report has revealed that the death was caused due to ‘hemorrhagic shock’ and injuries to the small intestine.
The police denied reports that they delayed taking action after attack on Kelly.
Asked whether Kelly first came to the Calangute police station around 8 a.m. Wednesday, drunk and injured after the brawl but was allowed to leave, Deputy Superintendent of Police Gundu Naik said the police first learnt about Kelly’s injuries only at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday when Kelly was admitted at the Goa Medical College.
“We did receive a complaint earlier that a fight had taken place at Club City bar and restaurant. But by the time our beat constables reached the place, the foreigner who was involved in the fight (who the police claim was the deceased Kelly) had left,” Naik said.
The police have already arrested Manak Basak, 32, Jagat Pradhan, 23, and Jaikrishna Das, 25, all of whom were employees of the Club City bar and restaurant, for the attack on Kelly.
The Goa police have been severely censured for their ham-handed investigations in the sensational murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling, who was found dead on Anjuna beach in February earlier this year.
After the Goa police investigations came under cloud, the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.