Will never dare to holiday in Goa again, says Scarlett’s mom

Panaji, Aug 23 (PTI) Eight years after her daughterScarlett Keeling was found dead in Goa, British national FionaMackowen says she would never dare to holiday in the coastalstate again though she would love to explore rest of India asa tourist. "I won’t feel like coming on a holiday now. I am notfeeling safe at this moment. May be other parts of India, Ican visit. It is because of the case is here, and initiallystate government tried to hush-up the case…I would probablycome for a holiday, not in Goa but somewhere else in India,"Fiona told PTI. She is here to witness the final arguments on chargesheetfiled in the Scarlett case before Goa Children’s Court inPanaji. The arguments would be heard this week. Two locals, Placido Carvalho and Samson Fernandes, werecharged for drugging and leaving the British teenager to dieon Anjuna coast in year 2008. Scarlett’s semi-nude and bruisedbody was found on the shore. The case had grabbed international attention as Britishersused to be the largest number of tourists visiting Goa. Fiona hopes that justice, though delayed, would be done bythe court after the final arguments. "I do hope that justice would be done. I would ideallyexpect that both of them (the accused) would be charged formurder because I believe she was murdered, but the chargesthat they have imposed of culpable homicide still is agood enough punishment," she said. The case, initially investigated by state police, waslater handed over to CBI on repeated pleas made by Scarlett’sfamily. Fiona said the hardest thing for her was the way thegovernment treated this case. "They made it lot more dramatic. They didn’t treat itproperly, they should have treated it as a murder straightaway before the evidence was destroyed," she said. Fiona accused the previous government of supportingpolice to hush up the case initially. "It is not just initially, but they carried it on until wedemanded second autopsy. If that had not happened, they wouldhave kept it as an accident. I was very lucky to come acrossVikram Varma (Supreme Court lawyer who campaigned for justiceto Scarlett). I had no idea about law in India. "Other people who have landed here in Goa and died, theirfamilies are desperate…there is no justice of any kind, theydon’t even have FIR filed. So that way I considered myself aslucky," she added. Fiona feels things were expected to be different in Goaafter the new government took over in 2012. (More) PTI RPS NSKKUNSDM