Indian police have arrested a 28-year-old local man in connection with the rape and murder of British tourist Scarlett Keeling.

Inspector Kishan Kumar from Goa Police said Samson D'Souza was seized after witnesses said they saw him raping the 15-year-old from Devon on a beach at the resort of Anjuna on February 18, the day she died.

"This man was seen with the girl near to where her dead body was found. It was evidently clear this man was raping her," he said.

"We have sufficient evidence to show this man was having sex with the girl in the early hours of February 18. We have established that he was raping her."

Officers were now working on a murder investigation, he added.

Police reportedly arrested three men in connection with Scarlett's death after her mother Fiona MacKeown insisted doctors carry out a second post-mortem examination.

Indian police initially said Scarlett drowned accidentally but Ms MacKeown, from Bideford, Devon, demanded an investigation, claiming that her daughter had 50 marks on her body.

Ms MacKeown was on a six-month holiday with Scarlett, her boyfriend and six other children in Goa when Scarlett died.

She said: "Scarlett's death was no accident. She was a very good swimmer - she grew up body-boarding near where we live.

"Some people believe Scarlett was drunk on her last night, but I know my daughter, she wasn't a drinker. She just didn't like drinking."

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.