Scarlett Keeling

 

Scarlett Keeling still awaits descent burial...

Mortal remains of the British national, murdered in Goa, two years ago, still lies in a United Kingdom morgue

Today, (February 18), the mortal remains of Scarlett Keeling (15), a British national murdered two years ago in Goa, lies in a UK morgue deprived of her right of a decent burial, because of all the bureaucratic wrangling shrouding the case. 

It has been a nightmarish two years for Fiona, Scarlett's mother, who is also awaiting some kind of 'closure' by hoping to bury Scarlet in a garden outside her home in North Devon, UK. Yet, Fiona is unaware of when that would happen.

The half-clad body of Scarlett (15) from North Devon, UK was found on Goa's popular Anjuna beach on February 18, 2008.

An emotional Fiona spoke to MiD-DAY from Devon and said, "It is unfortunate that Scarlett awaits a descent burial even after two years of her demise."

"A young girl who was brutally assaulted, raped and murdered and the criminal justice system gave ample time and opportunity to the perpetrators of this crime to destroy all evidence of the crime.

Today, two years later the body of the child remains unburied and the criminals are walking free. The criminal justice system should be an icon of faith, but in this particular incident the creditability of the criminal justice system is severely dented," said Advocate Vikram Varma.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the investigation from Goa police on June 5, 2008 and filed a chargesheet in the case on October 14, 2009 and named three accused Placido Carvalho, Samson D'souza, and Julio Lobo who were booked under Sections 304, 354, 328, 201, 109 and Section 8 (1)(2) of the Goa Children's Act.

However the irony was that Julio Lobo, who had earlier admitted of sleeping with Scarlett before the murder, retracted his statement and it could not be corroborated during the trial with evidence and Lobo was finally acquitted within one-month of filing the chargesheet.

Samson D'souza, who works as a barman at Louis shack was arrested by Goa police on March 9, 2008. He had allegedly offered drugs, assaulted Scarlett and caused sever injuries to her resulting in her death. However, he was out on bail on September 22, 2008.

Placido Carvalho also known as Shana Boy was also arrested in the case for sexually abusing her. He was arrested on March 12, 2008 but was released within 22 days from the date of committing crime.