A British man has told The Times that he saw an Indian barman apparently sexually assaulting Scarlett Keeling less than two hours before the 15-year-old British girl’s half-naked body was found on a beach in Goa.

The witness, who asked not to be identified, said that the attack took place after Scarlett left Lui’s bar on Anjuna Beach high on a cocktail of LSD, Ecstasy and cocaine at 5am on February 18.

Police confirmed she had been murdered only after a campaign by her mother, Fiona MacKeown, who refused to accept that her daughter had drowned. The case has exposed the seedy side of Goa, one of India’s leading tourist destinations, and compounded fears about the safety of foreign women in the country after a series of sexual assaults on tourists in the past three months.

The witness said that he fled Goa because he believed that his life was in danger from the alleged assailant and the local police, who have been accused by Scarlett’s mother of covering up her rape and murder.

Why Brits will keep taking the cheap option in Goa

The deaths of two British holidaymakers in Goa is unlikely to deter the 230,000 package holidaymakers who will go this year

Related Links

• Man arrested for rape of British girl in Goa

• Drugs blamed for deaths in hippy paradise

• A girl's death reveals grim party paradise

He also accused British consular officials of “hanging him out to dry” after he asked for their help and protection. “I’m trying to do the right thing; I want to co-operate,” he said. “But I feel that I am in great danger and the British authorities are doing nothing to help me.”

His account of Scarlett’s final hours came as police in Goa said that they had arrested Samson D’Souza, a barman at Lui’s, on suspicion of raping her. He is expected to appear in court today.

Inspector Kishin Kumar, of the Goan police, said: “Although the sex may or may not have happened with consent, since the girl was a minor a case of rape has been recorded.” Police said that they had detained two other Indian men for questioning, including Luis Coutinho, the owner of Lui’s. They are searching for four others.

The detentions followed a second post-mortem examination which showed that Scarlett had been murdered and had 50 bruises and abrasions on her body. The original post-mortem noted only five bruises and concluded that she had drowned. Fiona MacKeown, Scarlett’s mother, from Bideford in Devon, had refused to accept that and accused police of covering up her rape and murder. “It was our main objective to get the police . . . to admit that she’d been murdered, as I knew in my heart she had been,” Mrs MacKeown said.

The British witness’s testimony could now be crucial, if British consular officials agree to help to arrange a meeting with a top Goan police officer and to escort the witness to the police station to guarantee his safety. The witness, who is in touch with Mrs MacKeown’s lawyer, said that he was in Lui’s bar from 8pm until about 5am on February 17-18, and drank one beer and several glasses of fruit juice and water but no more alcohol because he was on antibiotics.

He said the first time that he saw Scarlett was when she fell over on the beach in front of Lui’s at about 3am and was helped into the bar by the owner. She told the handful of staff and customers that she had no money to get a taxi home, but did not appear in a hurry, he said. “She was wasted, talking gibberish, but she was just about coherent. I told people to stay away from her because she was clearly very young.” She told him later she had taken three drops of LSD, two Ecstasy pills and cocaine, he said.

Shortly after entering Lui’s she went into the kitchen area at the back, where she remained for at least an hour talking and taking cocaine with some of the Indian men there, he said. At about 5am one of the men, thought to work at another bar, offered to give Scarlett a lift and left with her, he said. When the witness noticed that a barman from Lui’s had also left, he said he went to the car park behind the bar to look for him.

At that point, he said, he saw the man who had offered Scarlett the lift driving away on his scooter alone and, in the beam of his headlight, he saw the barman “lying on top” of Scarlett.

The witness said he got on his own scooter and shouted at the barman as he drove off but did not intervene because he did not hear screaming or struggling. He did not inform the police immediately, he said, because he was afraid of recriminations from the alleged assailant or corrupt officers.

When he heard that police were looking for him, he telephoned the British Deputy High Commissioner but was told that officials could not interfere in judicial matters. He was given the details of two lawyers.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office declined to comment on why it had been unable to offer more assistance and referred The Times to a list of rules governing consular services.

Times Recommends

• 6 reasons not to give gifts this Christmas
• Remembrance Day: All the lonely heroes