Goa teenagers arrested for digging up graveyard, stealing skulls

PANAJI // Police have arrested three teenagers in Goa for allegedly digging up a graveyard in an island village and lining up skulls along a main road to scare away "drunkards".

The incident was discovered when stunned residents came across the bizarre scene on Friday morning, and police then found that the graveyard of a local church had been vandalised.

They have since arrested three local males aged 14, 18 and 19.

"They have said that they did it to scare away the drunkards who are usually creating nuisance on the island every night," the deputy superintendent of police Gajanan Prabhudesai said on Saturday.

The former Portuguese colony of Goa is a haven for tourists, with its long sandy beaches and laid-back atmosphere.

It attracts about 400,000 foreign visitors a year. The island of Divar, where the crime occurred, is reached by a state-run boat service that runs until late at night.