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Sonali Phogat’s death, Scarlett Keeling case, Drug bust: Goa’s 'Curlies' back in limelight after 14 years

Curlies is considered as one of Goa's most popular nightlife spots, popular with both foreign and domestic visitors.

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Curlies, a private shack on Anjuna beach that gained international attention following the death of a British teenager in 2008, is back in the news, with Haryana BJP leader Sonali Phogat partying there just hours before her death.

The 42-year-old actor-politician had visited the restaurant on Monday night and was pronounced dead at St Anthony Hospital in Anjuna, North Goa, on the morning of August 23.

Her death, which was initially considered to be the result of a heart attack, has now been turned into a murder investigation, with her personal assistant Sudhir Sangwan and his friend Sukhwinder in custody. The two have been accused of rape by Phogat's family.

The Goa Police on Thursday pressed a charge of murder against the two associates after a post-mortem report mentioned there were "multiple blunt force injuries" on the body of Sonali Phogat.

Curlies is considered as one of Goa's most popular nightlife spots, popular with both foreign and domestic visitors.

Scarlett Keeling death case

Curlies, while immensely popular with visitors, made headlines in 2008 during the investigation into the death of British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling. Her mother then alleged that her daughter had told her that she had visited Curlies soon before arriving at the location where she was sexually assaulted and left to die on the beach.

The partially clothed body of the girl was discovered on Anjuna beach. Keeling was from Bideford in Devon, England. The police immediately linked her death to an accident. After her mother insisted on a second autopsy, they discovered that she had been drugged and raped.

"From the evidence on record, it appears that Scarlett Keeling was brought to Curlies prior to arriving to the Lui's Shack where she eventually died," said counsel Vikram Varma, who represented the deceased's mother, Fiona Mackeown.

Scarlett Keeling had e-mailed a Spanish friend that boys at Curlies had shown her porn on their cellphones and tried to rape her.

In 2019, the Bombay High Court convicted Samson D'Souza, a Lui's Shack employee, to ten years in prison for the rape and murder of the British teenager.

Drugs case

The shack, which was described as "untouchable" since its owner, Edwin Nunes, was apparently well-connected with the BJP, had a run-in with the authorities in 2017 when then-chief minister Manohar Parrikar arrested Nunes after a waiter was found to be in possession of drugs on the premises.

Upon receiving a tip, the Anjuna police had raided the parking area of Curlies shack and had caught waiter Manjunath Anverikar of Nanerwada, Pernem, with 7.3g of charas worth Rs 7,500.

Parrikar also ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to check Curlies. Following the discovery that the eatery was operating under very unsanitary conditions, the FDA ordered its shutdown. It had identified 30 deficiencies, including openly cooked food, kitchens with direct access to restrooms, and the use of food coloring in cooking, among others.

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