NEW DELHI/PANAJI: The mother of a British teenager who was raped and murdered last month in Goa said on Wednesday that she was worried at the possibility of police charging her with neglect for leaving her daughter alone.

Scarlett Keeling, 15, was found dead on a beach in Goa in February. At the time, her mother was away in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, according to police.

“I am worried at these reports. The police are deflecting the real issue and taking the focus away by saying that I neglected my daughter which is not true,” Fiona MacKeown said.

“She was not alone and was under the care of a very responsible person. The police are only trying to cover up the case and I don’t have any faith in them.”

A police officer said charging MacKeown for neglect was a possibility but declined to say anything more.

“There are provisions under Indian laws to charge her with neglect,” said Kishan Kumar, a senior police officer handling the case. “That is a possibility, but we are not saying anything more now.” After Keeling’s death, police said the teenager had drowned after taking drugs, but changed their statement after her mother complained and a second autopsy suggested she had been raped and murdered.

They also arrested a man suspected of raping Keeling.

On Wednesday, the government transferred the officer investigating the case to a non-operational unit.

“For the moment we have moved him out of the police station as we don’t have faith in him, but we will take departmental action once we have cracked the case,” J.P. Singh, Goa’s chief secretary said.

Police officers said they were planning to take x-rays of Keeling’s bones to determine the exact age of the teenager, which her mother said would only delay the case further.

On Tuesday, Goa’s chief minister, Digambar Kamat also accused MacKeown of neglecting her daughter.

Under Goa’s child protection laws, neglecting a minor is a serious offence and carries a prison term up to six months and a fine, officials said.

Keeling’s case is also the latest to highlight the safety of tourists in India.—Agencies