Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: British teenager Scarlett Keeling's mother has said that she is "bitterly disappointed" and "in a state of shock" as she feels that the supplementary chargesheet filed by the CBI "has given far more breathing room" to the two men suspected of killing daughter in February last year.
"I am bitterly disappointed with the charges and I don't know what to think. I had hope in the CBI, but now that's shattered. Leave alone catch the real culprits, even murder charges against the two accused has been dropped," Fiona Mackeown told TOI from her home in UK.
Fiona believes that Scarlett's murderers may think that they have escaped from the long arms of law but "the souls of her murderers will never find peace".
The CBI in its supplementary chargesheet filed in the children's court on Wednesday against Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho charged the duo for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. It may be recalled that the Goa police in a chargesheet filed in May 2008 had charged the two accused with murder. "What does this say about India? It seems no one has the power to make the men guilty of killing my daughter accountable. I am not surprised though," said Fiona, who had been alleging that powerful people in Goa are involved in the murder of her daughter. The Goa police first said she had drowned. However, following a forceful campaign by Fiona, the police registered a case of rape and murder.
But unhappy with the investigations, she demanded a CBI inquiry. "I feel that Goa is an unsafe place to visit and it is unlikely that I will ever return, except probably for the trial," Fiona said.
She revealed that she doesn't completely blame the CBI. "I think they did the best they could do with what little evidence was left. Besides, they were instructed not to investigate the Goa police for the blatant lies they told me initially. The CBI weren't allowed to look at why the police tried to cover up the murder in the first place. The government in India obviously didn't want the CBI to succeed," she alleged.
However, she made it clear that her fight is far from over. "At the moment, I am not sure what to do next. But I will attend the trial in India and won't give up fighting for Scarlett," Fiona said.
Fiona also stated that "Scarlett awaits a decent burial". "The coroner in UK has told me that Scarlett's body will not be released to me until she has received the reports on the case from the Indian authorities. I hope at least they will send the reports so that we can have a decent funeral for Scarlett," she added.
"I am bitterly disappointed with the charges and I don't know what to think. I had hope in the CBI, but now that's shattered. Leave alone catch the real culprits, even murder charges against the two accused has been dropped," Fiona Mackeown told TOI from her home in UK.
Fiona believes that Scarlett's murderers may think that they have escaped from the long arms of law but "the souls of her murderers will never find peace".
The CBI in its supplementary chargesheet filed in the children's court on Wednesday against Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho charged the duo for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. It may be recalled that the Goa police in a chargesheet filed in May 2008 had charged the two accused with murder. "What does this say about India? It seems no one has the power to make the men guilty of killing my daughter accountable. I am not surprised though," said Fiona, who had been alleging that powerful people in Goa are involved in the murder of her daughter. The Goa police first said she had drowned. However, following a forceful campaign by Fiona, the police registered a case of rape and murder.
But unhappy with the investigations, she demanded a CBI inquiry. "I feel that Goa is an unsafe place to visit and it is unlikely that I will ever return, except probably for the trial," Fiona said.
She revealed that she doesn't completely blame the CBI. "I think they did the best they could do with what little evidence was left. Besides, they were instructed not to investigate the Goa police for the blatant lies they told me initially. The CBI weren't allowed to look at why the police tried to cover up the murder in the first place. The government in India obviously didn't want the CBI to succeed," she alleged.
However, she made it clear that her fight is far from over. "At the moment, I am not sure what to do next. But I will attend the trial in India and won't give up fighting for Scarlett," Fiona said.
Fiona also stated that "Scarlett awaits a decent burial". "The coroner in UK has told me that Scarlett's body will not be released to me until she has received the reports on the case from the Indian authorities. I hope at least they will send the reports so that we can have a decent funeral for Scarlett," she added.
October 23, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
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