Goa, Mar 3: Fiona MacKeown, the mother of the 15-year-old girl Scarlett Keeling, who was found dead at a beach in Goa last month, has accused the Goa Police of "covering up" her daughter’s "rape and murder" case.

Falsifying the police’s theory that the teenage girl drowned in shallow water, Mrs MacKeown said she was a "strong swimmer".

"Without doubt they are trying to cover things up. I have viewed my daughter’s body. The police said there were no abrasions and her body is covered in them. They say she drowned in shallow water, but she was a strong swimmer," The Times quoted Mrs MacKeown as saying.

After Scarlett’s half-naked body was found on Anjuna Beach on February 18, the local police force declared that she had drowned accidentally. But the postmortem report seen said that she had several bruises and abrasions to her head, neck, arms and legs, which led to the conclusion that she was sexually assaulted.

Her shorts and underpants had been removed and her bra-top pushed up around her neck, according to local people who found her body. Goa’s chief pathologist said that she had recently had sexual intercourse, although it is not known if it was forced, said the report. (ANI)