The Hindu : Karnataka News : Death of foreign tourists figures in Goa Assembly

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Karnataka

Karnataka

Death of foreign tourists figures in Goa Assembly

Special Correspondent

PANAJI: “Over 160 foreigners died in Goa in the last three years. Will the Home Minister enquire into and take this issue seriously? Asked Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar during the question hour in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

A cursory look at the statistics provided by Home Minister Ravi Naik in his written reply revealed that in 40 per cent of the cases, the authorities had not been able to ascertain the cause for death because of delay of more than two years in obtaining the forensic test results. A majority of these deaths take place in the coastal areas of the State.

Overdose of drugs

Mr. Parrikar pointed out that many foreigners died of overdose of drugs or other drug-related complications. And in nearly half of the cases of unnatural deaths, the police had not received the reports of the forensic analysis of the viscera, he said.

The reports were awaited from the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratories in Hyderabad and Mumbai where the extracts from stomach and viscera taken during autopsy were sent by Goan authorities for analysis.

Mr. Ravi Naik told the House that he was taking the issue seriously.

Goa annually gets over 4 lakh foreign tourists.

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