SCARLET CASE
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DELAYED PROBE
FIR registered by Anjuna police after 20 days of crime
Case handed over to CBI after 108 days of crime
Adv Verma says Scarlet Keeling was drugged, raped and murdered
There were 52 injuries on Scarlet's body
GMC autopsy report indicated homicide as cause of death
Para 69 of judgement says investigation agency CBI was influenced
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Delay in registering FIR by Anjuna Police led to acquittal of accused: Adv Verma
Fiona petitions PM Modi for justice
THE GOAN NETWORK
SALIGAO
Advocate Vikram Verma stated that a 20-day delay in registering FIR by Anjuna Police and a 108-day delay in handing over the Scarlet Keeling case to Central Bureau of Investigation by the Goa government led to destruction of evidence, resulting in acquittal of the accused.
Addressing media persons at his office in Porvorim on Thursday, Adv Verma said Scarlet Keeling was drugged, raped and murdered at Anjuna beach on August 18, 2008.
“However, despite several requests from Fiona, the mother of Scarlet, Anjuna Police refused to register an FIR on the same day,” he said.
“Anjuna Police took nearly 20 days to register the crime, by which time the accused had destroyed the entire evidence. There were 52 injuries on Scarlet's body. The crime has been committed by a syndicate and huge amount of evidence has been destroyed,” stated Adv Verma.
“Doctors of Goa Medical College made the statement in their autopsy report that it was a case of homicide, but Fiona wants to know who killed her daughter,” he said.
Verma further said the evidence on record reveals that there was regular storage, sale and consumption of narcotics like cocaine in Luis' shack, but CBI ignored this narcotics angle altogether.
“Why was action not taken by Goa Police against the narcotics seller under the NDPS Act? Why were arrests not made? Para 69 of the judgement mentioned that the investigating agency CBI was influenced.”
“Investigating agency can be influenced by political people or pressure from some bigwigs. If these possibilities are ruled out, then the incompetence of officials handling the case has led to acquittal of the accused. The court has cast aspersion on integrity of the investigating agency,” said Verma.
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Fiona petitions Modi
SALIGAO: Fiona Mackeown, mother of the dead British teen Scarlet Keeling, has petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention in the case and praying for justice.
The letter sent on September 29 stated that after eight-and-half years of waiting and trusting the criminal justice system, she found that the accused stood acquitted due to lack of evidence.
She also claimed that those who destroyed the evidence were never charged, those authorities who shielded the criminals by providing them enough time to destroy the evidence were never charged and the criminals justice system does not know who killed her daughter.
Fiona has demanded that the people who were responsible for her daughter's murder be identified and prosecuted, the people who destroyed evidence related to the crime be identified and prosecuted and those who shielded the criminals by providing time to destroy evidence related to the crime should be identified and prosecuted.
