Three days after the body of Liga Skromane, a Latvian tourist who went missing a month ago, was found in a wooded area near Kerala's famous Kovalam beach, the victim's sister claims she has every reason to believe Liga's death was a homicide.
Liga, who was 33 years old and was undergoing treatment for depression at an ayurvedic centre in Kerala, went missing on March 14.
Liga, a citizen of Latvia, was a resident of Ireland for the past five years. She worked as a public relations specialist in Latvia for a few years before moving to Ireland where she did floristry. She picked up the basics of floristry from her mother who has a flower shop in Latvia. Later, Liga moved to the countryside and worked in a guest house as a waitress.
Her sister, Ilze, recalls Liga had gone missing even before. Before checking in to the ayurvedic centre, the duo stayed in a guest house in Varkala. There, Ilze had gone to church and when she came back, Liga was nowhere to be seen. Ilze searched everywhere and finally found her sister on a beach.
Liga told her that she wanted to have a swim in the ocean, but the high tide had scared her. Then a German man approached her, gave her a lift on his bike and took her to the backwaters. By the time, she finished her swim, he had disappeared.
Ilze is yet to come to terms with her sister's death. But she has no time to grieve. ''Justice has to be served before my sister's remains can be put to rest back home,'' she says.
In a letter to Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Gopi, the family expressed apprehensions on the Kerala Police not showing urgency in searching for Liga after she went missing near Kovalam.
''I don't want to assume anything, but if you think about it intelligently, it (evidence) is pointing to homicide,'' says Ilze Skromane in an exclusive interview to THE WEEK. ''My sister was very trusting. I believe someone approached her in a friendly manner and she trusted them,'' says the 31-year-old who runs a beauty salon in Cork City in Ireland.
What do you think would have happened to Liga?
My sister was very trusting. She always saw the best in people. I think she might have gone to look if there was a quieter beach nearby. I believe someone approached her in a friendly manner and she trusted them.
The place where the remains of her body was found is not the kind of place you could find by yourself. You would have to know where it is. There are only two ways to get there as it is isolated from the beach by backwaters. One way is by transport coming from the main road to Kovalam, which would mean someone would have to bring Liga there.
The next day after my sister's remains were found, we went back to Kovalam beach in the early morning like she did on March 14 to see if it's possible to walk there, and we did. If you walk fast, you could reach there in half an hour. But the only way you could get across the backwaters where Liga was found is by an old boat. There is a rope tied on each side of the water and to get across, you would have to pull yourself. It would not be something a single woman would have done. Also to spot this boat is not that easy. Which again would suggest that Liga was with someone.
The jacket she was wearing does not belong to her. I know this 100 per cent because we packed my sister's bag together, deciding what items she needs. Also her body was found in very unnatural position and the head was separated from the body. If she died of natural causes,most probably we would find the body simply lying on the ground.
I don't want to assume anything but if you think about it intelligently, it is pointing to homicide.
Has she ever gone missing earlier?
We stayed in a nice quite guest house for almost two weeks in Varkala beach before going to the ayurveda centre. It was Saturday when the manager mentioned that on Sunday morning he was going for mass. My sister knew that I would like to go, but I would never leave her on her own. Later, she said to me, ''Please go for mass. I will be okay here at the guest house and you won't be gone that long anyway.''
When we came back, Liga was missing. I didn't panic too much as I thought she must have gotten bored and gone for a walk on the beach. I ran there but couldn't find her, I ran to another nearby beach 30 minutes away where we used to walk, but couldn't find Liga there. Now I got really worried. The manager of the guest house joined the search and we found her walking on the main beach.
We were so happy to see her! When I asked what happened, Liga told me that she wanted to have a swim, but the waves in the sea were too big for her. She was approached by a friendly German guy and he offered to bring her to the backwaters, which, by his words, was like a lake with no waves and safe to swim. Liga trusted him. He brought her there on a bike and when she came out after swimming, he was gone. My sister had a good sense of direction and walked all the way back to us.
What was Liga like?
My sister Liga was a very creative, kind and loving person. She was well-educated and intelligent. She loved talking to people and helping them any way she could. She always saw the best in everyone and would always forgive people's wrongdoings. Liga loved good humour and was the one who would always cheer up people with her positive outlook to life. She will be missed immensely by her friends and family.
Why was she depressed?
Liga suffered from post-traumatic depression, following an incident in August 2017. It turned her life upside down.
We have agreed as a family not to disclose more details of Liga's previous health condition as it won't help the investigation.
After it happened, every time we asked her whether there is anything she wanted, anything we could do, she always said: ''Time machine! All I want is a time machine to go back before it all happened...''
Doctors back home tried to help her, but the treatment with pharmaceutical medicine didn't prove successful.
One of the hardest parts about my sister's depression was insomnia; she couldn't even rest at night and sleeping pills didn't help.
We started to look for alternative options. I researched ayurveda, one of the world's oldest holistic healing systems. It was developed more than 3,000 years ago in India. It's based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. My sister loved so many things about India: its music, cuisine... She was practising yoga and always wanted to come here.
I wanted to make sure that we are going to an authentic ayurvedic clinic, not a touristy place. After a long search, we found Dharma Ayurveda Healing Centre in Kerala that was established in 1965. It has a comprehensive six-week programme to help overcome depression. Liga agreed to come to India.
Every week, we could see improvement. Liga started to look better. Her face, that was always upset looking before, started to brighten up. She started to sleep better and, from the second week onward, attended morning yoga classes. Every morning and evening, we would go for a long walk in the countryside, where locals smiled and greeted us. Liga loved the people in the centre; they took impeccable care of us. My gratitude goes out to them.
It was on the third week of the programme that my sister disappeared.
When I look back now and take into consideration where Liga was found, I think she went to the beach because she had a headache and wanted some fresh air, but didn't realise that this is a busy resort, not a quiet spot for walking.
Liga knew she had one hour while I was in yoga class and might have thought it would give her enough time to go and come back. Also, it would make sense because she didn't take anything with her, apart from cash that was enough to return.