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Politics : New FADG. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (3901)	3/11/2008 1:11:17 PM
From: average joe	Respond to of 4152

Goa victim's mother calls for 'FBI inquiry'... The rape suspect after his court appearance in Mapusa today Jeremy Page in Delhi The mother of Scarlett Keeling, the 15-year-old British girl found dead in Goa, asked yesterday for India’s equivalent of the FBI to take over an investigation into her daughter’s suspected rape and murder. Fiona MacKeown also asked for the country’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the Goan police officers whom she accuses of covering up the crime, and then lying to her and the media. “I have lost faith in the current leadership of the Goan police and request for an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation, both into the circumstances of the crime and the men in uniform,” she said. Mrs MacKeown made the request in a letter to Digambar Kamat, Goa’s Chief Minister, who has defended the police and warned foreign women visiting the state to behave more responsibly. The letter was delivered to Mr Kamat’s office as a 29-year-old Goan named Samson D’Souza appeared in court to be remanded in custody for the suspected rape of Scarlett. Kishin Kumar, Inspector of Goa Police, said that Mr D’Souza had been remanded in police custody for 14 days, but was not formally charged. “We have sufficient evidence to show this man was having sex with the girl in the early hours of February 18. We have established that he was raping her,” he said. “As far as the murder is concerned, we are still investigating.” Mr D’Souza worked as a barman in Lui’s bar on Anjuna beach, and several witnesses say that he was there when Scarlett stumbled in between 3am and 4am on February 18. A British man has also told The Times that he saw a barman “lying on top” of Scarlett after she left Lui’s bar high on a cocktail of LSD, Ecstasy and cocaine at about 5am. Her half-naked body – covered in bruises and abrasions – was found on the beach near Lui’s at about 6.30am the same morning. Police say that they have detained at least three other Indian men – including Luis Coutinho, the owner of Lui’s, and Julio Lobo, a 25-year-old local tour guide who was having a sexual relationship with Scarlett. They are looking for at least four more, according to police sources. Mrs MacKeown said that she could not be sure the Goan police had detained the right men, as they could now be trying to find a scapegoat to divert attention from the real culprit. “I am not confident they have got the right person. I think they are just making a public show,” she said. “We have had many reports they have done this before with other cases. I just think they are going to continue to try to cover themselves up.” In response to the allegations, Mr Kumar said that one policeman in Goa had been suspended. “We are examining the allegations and the first step we took was to strip him of his authority.” Mrs MacKeown, 43, wants to take Scarlett’s body back to Britain to bury her near their home in Bideford, Devon, according to Dakini Runningbear, a family friend. “Her hope is to get her home as soon as possible,” said Mrs Runningbear. “But she thinks they may need to run some more tests.” The CBI was not available for comment, nor was Mr Kamat. But Francisco Xavier Pacheco, Goa’s Tourism Minister, called for the suspension of policemen involved in the botched investigation. “This is a clear case of murder and it has gone out of all proportion because the police tried to cover it up,” he said yesterday. Scarlett’s death – and the apparent police cover-up – has severely damaged Goa’s image as a relatively safe beach holiday destination for families, backpackers and pensioners. It has also added to fears about the safety of foreign women in India after a series of sexual assaults on female tourists, including several Britons, since December. “I am getting so many calls from places like Germany, Britain and other places,” Mr Pacheco said. “They are apprehensive about coming to Goa.” He added that there had been no cancellations so far, but the impact of Scarlett’s death was yet to be felt. Tourism accounts for about 15 per cent, or $465 million (£231 million), of Goa’s $3 billion economy. Last year, it was visited by 2.5 million tourists, including 160,000 Britons. timesonline.co.uk