Scarlett murder: NCW to do independent probe

Panaji, Mar 30: A two-member team of the National Commission for Women (NCW) arrived in Goa to conduct an independent enquiry into the death of British teenager Scarlett Keeling who was allegedly raped and killed in the state's popular Anjuna Beach.

The NCW, which has been following the case for several days, criticized the authorities for dragging their feet in the case. "The commission is very much concerned about the safety and security of the women, whether she is an Indian or foreigner. We are very serious about this case, and we are following it up from 15 to 20 days. But unfortunately, nothing has come out, and in spite of that Scarlett's mother is crying daily," said Nirmala Venkatesh, a member of the NCW.

"I don't think how far the police and the government are serious about the matter," she added. Venkatesh also said that photographs of Scarlett showed clearly that a metal piece had pierced her body.

"One metal injection was there on her back...yes, it was there, ...it was poked in her body that I have seen from the photograph, in detail, part by part, inch by inch," she said.

Earlier this month, the police arrested Samson D'Souza, a bartender and a drug dealer Placido Carvalho, on charges of drugging, raping and leaving Scarlette to die on the shallow beach water.

The autopsy revealed bruises all over Keeling's body and her mouth was stuffed with sand and she did not have enough saltwater in her lungs to indicate drowning.

Fiona Mackeown, the mother of Scarlett, earlier wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter.

Initially, Goa Police had insisted that Scarlett died due to accidental drowning and later re-investigated the case after second autopsy was conducted following persistent appeals from her mother.

ANI