Mum won’t take back girl’s body-Calling It Murder, Demands 2nd Autopsy On Brit Teen Found Dead In Goa

Mum won’t take back girl’s body
Calling It Murder, Demands 2nd Autopsy On Brit Teen Found Dead In Goa
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panjim: A disheartened Fiona McKeown, whose minor daughter was found dead under mysterious circumstances at the Anjuna beach in North Goa, has refused to take her teenage daughter’s body home to Devon, UK, till the police conduct a second autopsy. “I am absolutely convinced of foul play in my daughter Scarlette Keeling’s death and want the police to conduct a second autopsy. I suspect that my daughter was sexually abused and assaulted,” said Fiona.
Her suspicions are not baseless as even the autopsy report submitted by the police surgeon states that 15-year-old Scarlette had abrasions on the forehead and eyelids and bruises on both shins which were made with a blunt cousative weapon.
North Goa superintendent of police Bosco George confirmed that he had received the letter and said that he would request a second autopsy. “Meanwhile, we are making arrangements to send the girl’s viscera and smear stride and swabs for forensic tests at the forensic laboratory in Delhi,” he said.
Though the Goa police at first dismissed the British girl’s demise as death due to drowning, they are now examining if her death was homicidal or accidental. “Within two days, we will give a report on whether her death was homicidal or accidental. At present, we are checking on the people who were last seen with the girl,” said SP George.
According to the police, 15-yearold Scarlette was last seen at Lui Café in Govekarwado, Anjuna, in the company of two men—a popular restaurateur and a runner (local drug supplier), both from Anjuna, who were known to her. A waiter at Lui Café confirmed this. “Scarlette was at the café with two locals till about 4 am on February 18. She was in an inebriated state and couldn’t even stand straight. Once we closed the café at 4 am, she left with the two men,” the waiter revealed. At 7.15 in the morning, the police found her semi-naked body floating along the Anjuna beach near Lui Café.
Locals who knew Scarlette find it difficult to believe that she died due to drowning. “Her family members are good swimmers and she wouldn’t have gone into the sea at night, knowing very well the risks of swimming in a rocky area at night,” said Richard Pereira, a local shack owner.
Even as the locals described the girl as a friendly, warm person, they alleged that there was a darker side to her personality. “She was heavily into drugs. She used to pay for the drugs in kind as she had no cash,” a local beach boy revealed. The mother admitted that Scarlette would frequently experiment with charas, but she had never purchased it. “She never had much money and always smoked charas in a group,” the mother said.
Police officials investigating the case said that the family had arrived in Goa on November 22 last year and was regularly seen at a shack named Curlie’s in Dando, Anjuna, which is owned by Anjuna sarpanch Edwin Nunes aka Curlie. “She was friendly with Curlie and his friends Roy and Julio and would go as an escort with customers for the dolphin and crocodile trips that Roy and Julio organised. But she was never paid for the job,” the mother said.
However, Curlie denies personally knowing the girl and her family. Interestingly, there are complaints of alleged illegal activities at Curlie’s which Mapusa police are investigating. “We are keeping a watch on all activities at Curlie’s,” said the DSP of Mapusa, Subhash Goltekar.
The Goa State Commission for Children, shocked at the turn of events, has decided to take up the matter with the state government. “We are studying the matter and we will follow up with the police and the state government,” said Chairperson Uday Ballikar.


The Times of India, March 4, 2008,Times Nation Page 13

Aldei de Goa case

PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has placed a petition against Goa Real Estate and Construction Ltd (GRECL, popularly known as Aldeia de Goa ) for stay on December 17.



It must be recalled that two NGOs -- People's Movement for Civic Action and Goa Foundation—had approached the High Court challenging the permissions granted by the Curca panchayat to GRECL.



The Curca panchayat had granted permission to GRECL to construct a hotel cum residential project at Bambolim village, part of which falls within the 100 mt "no development zone" of the CRZ notification as per the order of the Supreme Court dated April 18, 1996.



The petitioners submitted that the area has been zoned as CRZ III in the approved Goa Coastal Zone Management Plan approved by the Central government on September 27, 1996 and sought to seek stay of the developments in the 100-mt zone on the ground that the proposed construction is in violation of CRZ.

HC quashes "stop work" order issued to Aldei de Goa

PANJIM: The High Court has quashed the "stop work" order issued to
Goan Real Estate & Construction Ltd by North Goa Additional Collector
because according to the Ministry of Environment & Forests "it is an
on-going project". In other words, GRECL can carry on with their work
of constructing homes and a hotel.

Swapnil Naik, Additional Collector, North Goa had turned down the
request of Goan Real Estate & Construction Ltd (GRECL) to cancel the
stop work order, stating that their project is an "ongoing" project.
GRECL backed by a letter from Director, Ministry of Environment &
Forests, who clarified that the construction activities in the zone
between 50 to 100 metres would attract the provisions of CRZ
notification from the date of orders of Supreme Court dated April 18,
1996 for undertaking any new developmental activities, requested to
cancel the stop work order.

Director, MoEF had further clarified, "any developmental activity
which had been initiated between August 18, 1994 and April 18, 1996
after obtaining all requisite clearances from concerned agencies
including from the TCP could be constructed as an on-going project."

It must be recalled that Naik had issued a stay order against illegal
construction/ development work carried out in survey number 12/1 and
99 by violating the CRZ guidelines and for violating section 17 (2) of
Town and Country Plan Act by indulging in large scale hill cutting in
survey no 95/1 and 96/12 of Bambolim village after the Gpa Bachao
Abhiyan (GBA) brought to the notice of the authorities mass
destruction by GRECL.

GRECL maintained that on May 31, 1995, Chief Town Planner, TCP
department and other concerned authorities approve the Development
Plan submitted by Goan Real Estate & Construction Ltd (GRECL) for
construction and development of residential houses and a hotel. On
July 31, 1995, Curca village panchayat issues construction license to
the GRECL, which is again later renewed for three years on October 18,
1998. They added that they are carrying out the development work from
1998 to 2006 and the project is under construction and incomplete.

However, Nail discharged the stay order to the extent that the
constructions beyond 100 mts line as demarcated from the present
position of river bank can be started as per the approval plan from
the TCP department, panchayat and other authorities. He added, "Any
further construction on the structures marked A, B and C on the plan
can't be started since these are within the 100 mts line. Further,
this order doesn't absolve the developer from the responsibility of
obtaining any other permission for cutting of hill, trees etc as per
the Rules".

Interestingly, on August 18, 1994, by way of amendment to the
notification, the area around the banks of rive affected by tidal
impact to which restriction applied was initially 100 mts is reduced
to 50 mts. However, on April 18, 1996, the Supreme Court had set aside
the part of this notification, restoring the area around the river to
100 mts for imposing restrictions.

GRECL also made representation to Goa Coastal Zone Management
Authority stating that the work is being carried out in terms of the
sanctioned plans and the stop work notice was unjustified.

However, when the GCZMA in its meeting on July 28, 2007 apprised the
members of the observations made out by MoEF that the project
undertaken by GRECL after a long gap of 12 years should be construed
as an on going project and that approval of 50 mts NDZ holds, the
members observed, "It can't be construed as an on-going project
because earlier only plinth level was constructed and thereafter
nothing was done for 12 years" and decided to demarcate 100 mts NDZ.