Tears, tributes mark Ireland vigil for woman found murdered in Goa beach
The body of Irish and British dual national who was found dead in Goa was on the way to her home in Ireland on Wednesday as hundreds of friends and family paid tributes to her at a candlelight vigil held in the seaside town of Buncrana in County Donegal, Ireland.
The 28-year-old woman was found murdered near the Palolem beach in Goa on March 14. Her murder – one person has been arrested – highlighted growing concern over safety in the popular holiday destination, where many foreign nationals have reportedly died .
A crowd-funding campaign to raise 10,000 Euros to meet the repatriation and funeral expenses reached over 39,600 Euros as a wave of gloom and despair swept over her hometown. The murder relived similar incidents for the kin of foreign nationals who died in Goa in the past, including the 2008 murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling.
The woman’s family used the vigil in Buncrana on Tuesday to call for justice for their daughter and sister. Mother of the deceased, did not attend the event but the family issued a statement. The body was expected to arrive by Thursday or Friday.
The spokesman told the mourners: “We call for justice from the Indian legal system and appeal to the authorities for a full, diligent, transparent and open investigation into all aspects of this crime and have real faith that with their help full justice will be served and the truth known which will provide some small comfort to the family.”
On memorial cards distributed were smiling pictures of teh woman with some of her last words she left on her Facebook account: “I am very grateful and the luckiest person I know .... off on another adventure.”
One of her younger sisters, Sian, said: “She was one of the kindest person you could ever meet. She told me once that you could do a lot of acts of kindness but it is no longer an act of kindness if you tell someone”.
Christy Duffy, friend of the deceased who organised the crowd-funding effort, said everyone had gathered with one common goal: “(We) are here to say goodbye, goodbye to an eternal optimist, goodbye to a comedian, goodbye to an adventurer, goodbye to a beautiful soul, goodbye to our friend...”
Goa is one of the most popular destinations of British and western tourists; most visits are incident-free. There have been many deaths due to alcohol and drug abuse or due to strong currents in the sea.Britain’s foreign office has a separate section on its India travel advice on Goa.
The UGC has directed all universities and educational institutions to include student’s photograph and Aadhaar number besides security features in degrees and certificates awarded by them.
“Having security features in the marksheets and certificates issued by varsities are useful for verification and curbing duplication. At the same time, they help in introducing uniformity and transparency within and across the system of higher education in the country,” UGC Secretary, J S Sandhu said in a communication to varsities.
“You are directed to include identification mechanisms like photograph and Unique ID/Aadhaar number in students’ certificates. Further, you are also requested to inscribe the name of the institution in which a student is enrolled as well as the mode of delivery (regular, part-time or distance),” he said.