Fiona give police the slip
Preetu Nair , TNN
Panaji: Anjuna police looking out for Fiona MacKeown, mother of murdered British teenager Scarlett Keeling , were caught napping, as Fiona entered the country a fortnight ago, recorded her statement, with the CBI in Mumbai and left. Fiona told TOI from her home in Devon, UK, " “I came to Mumbai to talk to the CBI as they were refused permission by the High Court in Goa to come to the UK to speak to me”.
The CBI was entrusted with the task of probing the rape and murder of 15-year-old Scarlett at Anjuna beach in February 2008, after investigations by the Goa police came under a cloud. Last month, the High court of Bombay at Goa dismissed CBI’s plea to give letter Rogatory to interrogate Fiona and another witness, Briton. The court, however, gave CBI three months extension to investigate the case.
Fiona feared arrest by Goa Police
Preetu Nair, TNN
Panaji:Fiona Mackeown mother of British teenager Scarlett Keeing who was murdered in Anjuna in 2008, came to Mumbai on July 18 from Britain and returned on July 21, after recording her statement with the CBI
“I was worried that the Goa police may try to arrest me or cause me other problems like stopping me from leaving which was why no one was informed about the trip”, she told TOI from her home in Devon, UK.
Fiona , who has accused the Goa police of a cover up last year, faces charges of negligence of her minor daughter under the Goa Children's Act 2003. Anjuna police that is investigating the case has sought permission from the government to go to UK to question Fiona.
Though Fiona wanted to visit Goa, fears that the local police may arrest her kept her away . “I would have loved to come to Goa. I still love Goa and think very warmly of the wonderful people I met there but there is a very dark element to Goa and this alone would have left me feeling very unsafe there”, she said
Fiona said that it is not just the police that she is worried about, but also those involved in Scarlett's murder. "My daughter’s murderers are powerful men, who have stated publicly that I have been harassing them and that their business has been affected by all of this. They definitely had a vested interest in me not speaking to the CBI. After all, they were powerful enough to instigate the cover up”, she alleged.
Happy with the progress of the CBI investigations, Fiona said, “They answered all of my questions and I left feeling very positive about the investigation and about the Indian judicial system”.
She. however, refused to divulge details about her meeting with the CBI stating that the CBI has not yet finished the investigations. “I was asked not to talk about the details of our meeting so as not to jeopardize the case. But I can tell you that I was able to provide them with information that they did not have”, said Fiona, adding “At the moment I am beginning to see a light at the end of a very long tunnel and just look forward to the investigation being over so that I can finally bring Scarlett home and burying her.”
August 3, The Times of India, Goa edition
Monday, August 03, 2009
Child maid's mother too received money
Child maid's mother too received money
PANAJI: The mother of the 10-year-old girl, recovering at Goa medical college and hospital from torture wounds allegedly inflicted her employers,has admitted to the police that she accepted money from the accused to send her minor child to work as a domestic maid at their home.
Police sources revealed that in her statement, the mother said she had taken Rs 1,500 from Porvorim based civil engineer Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar to allow her daughter to work in his house. However, the minor in her statement to the police had revealed that while her mother was paid Rs 2,000, her grandmother received Rs 800 and another person from Panaji, where she worked for few days, was the recipient of Rs 4,000 all paid by Shubham.
Though police made efforts to interrogate the mother again, they say they found her in an inebriated state most times. "We will thoroughly interrogate the mother again," said police sources.
In her statement, the mother told the police that she lived in Gadak, Karnataka and had on one occasion interacted with her daughter in the Pednekar household during the course of her daughter's employment.
Speaking to people she has befriended in the hospital the girl alleged that her mother, an alcoholic, used to regularly beat her up. "She said that tired of her mother's beatings, her elder sister had run away from home," sources said.
"We have told her that her mother is in Goa, but she has not even once asked to meet her mother, cutting her completely out of her life. She repeatedly tells us that her mother and grandparents are the cause of her misery as they took money and put her as domestic work," added Audrey Pinto, director of SCAN, an NGO, who has been with the girl since the day she was rescued.
Though it's been almost five days since the mother has returned to Goa, she has not made any effort to meet her daughter.
Hospital sources said that when the minor's grandfather met her in the hospital after consenting to a medical examination by a panel of doctors, the girl accused him of ruining her life.
"When the grandfather suggested that once she is cured, they would send her back to Gadak, she got upset and accused them of being responsible for her condition. She said that she doesn't want to go with them," said sources.
Meanwhile, the ossification test to determine the minor's age will be conducted at GMC on Monday. Police had requested an ossification test on Saturday, as the minor doesn't possess a birth certificate or any other certificate to affirm her date of birth.
3 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
PANAJI: The mother of the 10-year-old girl, recovering at Goa medical college and hospital from torture wounds allegedly inflicted her employers,has admitted to the police that she accepted money from the accused to send her minor child to work as a domestic maid at their home.
Police sources revealed that in her statement, the mother said she had taken Rs 1,500 from Porvorim based civil engineer Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar to allow her daughter to work in his house. However, the minor in her statement to the police had revealed that while her mother was paid Rs 2,000, her grandmother received Rs 800 and another person from Panaji, where she worked for few days, was the recipient of Rs 4,000 all paid by Shubham.
Though police made efforts to interrogate the mother again, they say they found her in an inebriated state most times. "We will thoroughly interrogate the mother again," said police sources.
In her statement, the mother told the police that she lived in Gadak, Karnataka and had on one occasion interacted with her daughter in the Pednekar household during the course of her daughter's employment.
Speaking to people she has befriended in the hospital the girl alleged that her mother, an alcoholic, used to regularly beat her up. "She said that tired of her mother's beatings, her elder sister had run away from home," sources said.
"We have told her that her mother is in Goa, but she has not even once asked to meet her mother, cutting her completely out of her life. She repeatedly tells us that her mother and grandparents are the cause of her misery as they took money and put her as domestic work," added Audrey Pinto, director of SCAN, an NGO, who has been with the girl since the day she was rescued.
Though it's been almost five days since the mother has returned to Goa, she has not made any effort to meet her daughter.
Hospital sources said that when the minor's grandfather met her in the hospital after consenting to a medical examination by a panel of doctors, the girl accused him of ruining her life.
"When the grandfather suggested that once she is cured, they would send her back to Gadak, she got upset and accused them of being responsible for her condition. She said that she doesn't want to go with them," said sources.
Meanwhile, the ossification test to determine the minor's age will be conducted at GMC on Monday. Police had requested an ossification test on Saturday, as the minor doesn't possess a birth certificate or any other certificate to affirm her date of birth.
3 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
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