The sister of a missing Latvian woman found dead last week said yesterday she believed it was a murder.
But the Kerala police, whom she blames for the death by delaying search, are not ready to accept it before an expert “medico-legal examination.”
Liga Skromane, 33, living in Ireland, went missing on March 14 from Kovalam beach while on a trip to an alternative health centre.
Two fishermen found her body in mangrove forest by a riverside near the seaside getaway, 31km away from the ayurveda centre.
Her sister Ilze Skromane and Irish partner Andrew Jordan assert she would never commit suicide, but the police said they were awaiting DNA test report for confirmation.
The body was decomposed with the head detached.
Skromane arrived here with her sister in February for treatment for mental issues.
“It’s not possible for a woman, especially someone under depression, to go to this spot alone. Somebody had to bring her there,” the sister, who is three years younger to her, said.
“So she’s not alone when she passed away. The remains of the body were at least one month old. If the police had acted fast, she wouldn’t have gone.”
Ilze said she was staying back to ensure that the police were doing their duty correctly and justice is done for her sister. The police launched a massive search, Ilze said, only ten days after she registered a complaint and began a parallel search using social media.
Her photograph carrying Liga’s person-missing poster went viral here and moved many. On April 1, naval divers also joined the search.
Ilze thanked people for the “love and affection that we cannot expect anywhere.”
“I want justice for my sister, and therefore, I demand a special crime investigation team formed to find out what happened to Liga,” she said.
“I want people who come here to know that the police are there to protect them, to stand up with them, not only for the tourists but the citizens of this country.”