Panaji: Even after two years of her tragic
death, UK teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling`s body remains to be
buried with the British authorities yet to get clearance from
the Government of India to hand over the corpse.
In an email interview, Scarlett`s mother Fiona Mackeown
said the coroner is waiting for the completion of paperwork
from the relevant Indian departments.
"The coroner has not released her body to me, she is
still in the morgue in Exeter (city in Davon, UK)," she said.
The body was flown to UK in March 2008, she said.
On February 18, 2008, Scarlett`s battered, semi-nude
corpse was found on Goa`s Anjuna beach. As of now, the case
stands charge sheeted in the local court. Two locals, Placido
Carvalho and Samson D`Souza, are held accused in the case.
Goa police after initial goof-up, later cracked down the
case which revealed that the teenager was drugged and left to
die on the beach.
The case was finally handed over to CBI after consistent
distrust by Fiona in the state police.
Two autopsies were conducted on the body at Goa medical
college and hospital while the authorities in UK carried
another.
Few of the organs, which were left behind in India, were
sent to UK by Indian authorities in the last week of May 2009,
after much delay, Fiona said.
"While the body of Scarlett rest in a morgue, the
criminals responsible I presume are happy that the spirit of
law lies buried below its letters," Fiona`s lawyer Vikram
Varma said today.
He slammed the investigating agencies` act of watering
down the charges against the accused from murder to culpable
homicide not amounting to murder.
Two autopsies were conducted on the body at Goa medical
college and hospital while the authorities in UK carried
another.
Few of the organs, which were left behind in India, were
sent to UK by Indian authorities in the last week of May 2009,
after much delay, Fiona said.
"While the body of Scarlett rest in a morgue, the
criminals responsible I presume are happy that the spirit of
law lies buried below its letters," Fiona`s lawyer Vikram
Varma said today.
He slammed the investigating agencies` act of watering
down the charges against the accused from murder to culpable
homicide not amounting to murder.
PTI
