SCARLETT'S MOTHER: I'm shocked, CBI is either incompetent or corrupt
Eight-and-half years after the death of British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling at Anjuna Beach, the Goa Children's Court on Friday acquitted the two accused Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho.
The final arguments in the almost six year-old trial were heard in the fourth week of August. Over 30 witnesses have been examined during the course of the trial which has been heard by five judges so far.
On February 18, 2008, young British national Scarlett's body was found in semi-nude condition at Gokulwado, Anjuna beach, a few metres away from Luis shack, where she was seen last.
The investigation was initiated by Anjuna police on directions of station in-charge PSI Nerlon Albuquerque and the then PSI Laxi Amonkar conducted the panchnama and shifted the body to GMC.
The first autopsy was conducted immediately after the body was found. In his report, Dr Silvano Sapeco, head of forensic medicine at GMC, offered a provisional opinion that it was death “due to drowning in the beach sand waters”.
Dr Sapeco placed Scarlett’s age between 16 and 17 years and recorded six groups of bruises and abrasions on her forearms while also ruling out the possibility of sexual assault on her before death.
On March 4, 2008, Fiona Mackeown wrote to the SP (North) requesting a second autopsy.
On March 5, then PSI Nerlon Albuquerque of Anjuna Police Station received a wireless directing him to hand over the case papers to then Bicholim PI Braz Menezes.
Five days later, a panel of three doctors from GMC conducted the second inquest panchnama and on March 9, FIR was registered under Section 302 (murder) of IPC.
The second autopsy found 50 individual injuries; 22 ante-mortem, 27 post mortem and one pending histopathology examination. The second report while hinting at homicide declared that it was the prerogative of investigating agency to decide the manner of the death.
However, Dr Sapeco, in his statement, continued to insist that none of the injuries mentioned in the second autopsy were sufficient to cause death.
Viscera examination report from Forensic Science Laboratory, Kalina-Mumbai dated March 19, 2008 confirmed presence of cocaine, morphine and alcohol in Scarlett’s body.
The final medical opinion was that Scarlett’s death was “due to drowning in the beach sand waters in the person intoxicated with alcohol and hypnotic drugs (cocaine and morphine) and having injuries on her body including a bruise on left lower labial sulcus at muco-gingival aspect”.
Central Bureau of Investigation took over the case in August 2008 and on October 21, 2009, upon completion of its investigation, filed a chargesheet against against Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho under IPC Sections 304 (II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 354 (assault or use of criminal force to a woman with an intent to outrage her modesty), 328 (administrating stupefying drug with an intent to cause hurt) and Section 109 (abetment) of IPC.
