Dublin woman says police could have averted sister’s death
Two anglers found Liga’s body in mangrove forest by a riverside
TRIVANDRUM: The sister of a Latvian woman who had been missing in Kerala since last month said on Monday she believed it was a murder.
But the 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 in the southern state while on a trip to an alternative health centre.
Two anglers found her body in mangrove forest by a riverside near this seaside getaway, 31 km away from the Ayurveda centre.
Her sister Ilze Skromane and Irish partner Andrew Jordan assert she would never take her life herself, but the police said they were awaiting DNA test report for conirmation.
The body was decomposed with the head detached.
Skromane arrived here with her sister who lives in Co Cork in February to treat mental issues she was experiencing.
“It’s not possible for a woman, especially who’s under depression, to go 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.”
She 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, she said, only after ten days since she registered a complaint and began a parallel search using the 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.
She 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 ind out what happened to Liga,” she said through sobs.
“I want people who come here to know that the police is there to protect them, to stand up with them, not only for the tourists but the citizens of this country.”
Jordan said he had seen the postmortem report and it suggested an unnatural death. A new jacket she’s wearing also raised suspicion.
Social worker Ashwati Jwala assisting them said the state’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan refused to meet after keeping them out for hours.
They had a similar experience with his police chief Loknath Behera, who allowed them to meet him after a wait of three hours.
“He shouted at them saying she was pestering him unnecessarily and threatened to write it off as another case of man-missing,” she said.
“He budged after Jordan asked what would have been his reaction if the police behaved like this when his wife goes missing.”
Behera said he had formed a task force led by an inspector general and the investigation was progressing.
“It’s a challenge to the Kerala police as it’s a foreigner who has died here. Medico-legal experts can only explain other things. I’m not competent to do that,” he said.