Scarlett mother called to court to answer neglect charges
Scarlett mother called to court to answer neglect charges
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Sunday, 12, Oct 2008 08:14
The mother of murdered British teenager Scarlett Keeling has been summoned to an Indian court to answer claims of child neglect.
Scarlett's body was found on a beach in Goa, India on February 8th. The 15-year-old was left with her boyfriend's family while her mother Fiona McKeown and sisters travelled around the neighbouring region for three weeks.
Local police initially claimed the British teen had drowned accidentally, but pressure from Ms McKeown to force a second inquest which showed Scarlett had been raped and murdered.
Ms McKeown has now been summoned by Goa's Directorate of Women and Child Development on October 15th to answer allegations of child neglect.
However, her lawyer, Vikram Varma, said his client will not attend the hearing as the allegations have "no substance".
He claimed powerful forces in Goa wish to cover up Scarlett's death/
"They have prejudged her," he said.
"They will try to ensure that Fiona does not come to India to give her testimony about Scarlett.
"They want what happened to Scarlett to be an accident."
Ms McKeown said earlier this year that she fears repercussions after speaking out over her daughter's death.
After a report from the chief pathologist at Goa Medical College revealed the teenager had been forcibly drowned by having her head held under water for up to ten minutes, Ms McKeown moved to an undisclosed location in March on the advice of Mr Varma.
"I moved my children out of the country about two weeks ago because I was worried about their safety," she told the BBC.
"We've been warned by lots of locals and press to watch out for our safety. We don't really have any police support or government support in this situation at the moment."
Mr Varma said the report's findings indicated "what we've been saying all along and what the police have been trying to cover up."