Goa cop probing Scarlett death case gets the sack

Goa cop probing Scarlett death case gets the sack
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panaji: The Goa police, after facing a lot of flak for their shoddy investigation into the rape-murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling, have finally got their act together. The police have dismissed the officer-in-charge of Anjuna police station, PSI Nerlon Albuquerque.
IGP Kishan Kumar said Nerlon had been dismissed in public interest on Thursday night for allegedly sabotaging the investigations. PSI Nerlon was in charge of the Anjuna police station when Scarlett’s half-naked body was found on Anjuna beach.
It is reliably learnt that the IGP, in his dismissal order, has clearly mentioned that if a police officer can so desperately put the entire investigation on the wrong track then there is every chance that he will interfere in the future proceedings of the case as well as in the departmental inquiry.Nerlon was placed under suspension with immediate effect on March 13, 2008 and a preliminary inquiry was ordered by the IGP into the lapses committed by him.The inquiry report revealed that he had adopted a callous attitude and had not acted despite being informed of the incident. He is said to have tried to hide facts and hush up the case, besides suppressing important clues and shielding the culprits.
The report observed that it was not just a case of negligence or ignorance but a case wherein a police officer had deliberately committed lapses to sabotage an investigation. “All lapses are of very serious nature and PSI Nerlon put the entire investigation on the wrong track by not examining the eyewitnesses, not searching for clues at the incident spot and not picking up any clue from the spot,’’ a senior police official said.
The preliminary report said though the witness and the accused—Placido Carvalho and Samson D’Souza—had been present in the area and brought to the police station, no action was taken. It added that Nerlon didn’t register the offence despite complaints from Scarlett’s mother, clinching evidence in the form of Samson’s orange-coloured slippers near Scarlett’s body and the presence of the accused persons and witnesses revealing the chain of events leading to the crime.

2008 Apr 12 Times Of India Mumbai