CBI finally pins down Scarlett’s mother

Fiona Mackeown's statement was recorded late last month, almost a year and a half after the Brit girl was raped and allegedly killed

CBI finally pins down Scarlett's mother

Fiona Mackeown's statement was recorded late last month, almostu00a0 a year and a half after the Brit girl was raped and allegedly killed

CBI sleuths probing the Scarlett Keeling (15) rape and murder case have finally managed to record the statement of her mother Fiona Mackeown, who came to India recently.

Fiona's statement, which is crucial to the case, was recorded almost a year and half after the incident (see box).

Senior CBI officials revealed that Fiona's visit to India last month was kept a secret and she was hidden at an undisclosed location amid tight security to avoid any media hype.
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Chargesheet

Her lawyer Vikram Verma, speaking from Goa, said, "The Bombay High Court of Panaji has ordered CBI to submit the chargesheet in the case within 90 days and the deadline expires on October 14.
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The court has also directed that the CBI won't be given any further extensionu00a0 thereafter."

Fiona's petition had demanded that Scarlett's case be treated as a homicide and not an accident and asked for action against those involved, said Verma.

"Scarlett's murder case is a test for the criminal justice system of India. Are we efficient enough to see the guilty convicted?" asked Verma.

Meanwhile, an NRI filmmaker based in the UK has approached Fiona about making a film on Scarlett. Fiona is yet to decide on this, revealed Verma.

The mortal remains of Scarlett continue to remain with the coroner in Britain and await a burial.

The story so far

The half-clad body of Scarlett from North Devon, UK, was found on Goa's popular Anjuna beach on February 18, 2008.

The Anjuna police initially suspected that the death was due to drowning.

A second autopsy confirmed rape and concluded that the cause of death was drug overdose.

The Goa police arrested three people Placido Carvalho, Samson D'Souza the barman at the shack where Scarlett's body was found, and Julio Lobo the local tour guide who struck up a relationship with the teenager.
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They were reportedly with her hours before her death. Carvalho apparently admitted to the police that he had given Scarlett drugs, raped her and left her on the beach.
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Fiona and the National Commission for Women, however, raised doubts about the Goa police's investigation and demanded a CBI probe, which the Goa government eventually agreed to.u00a0

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