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I know who killed my daughter, says Scarlett's mother

May 05, 2008 12:33 IST

Fiona MacKeown, the mother of murdered British teenager Scarlett Keeling, knows the identity of the man who killed her daughter in Goa in February, The Guardian newspaper has reported.

Fiona, who visited Goa last week to follow up on the murder case, tells the newspaper that the man's identity is "common knowledge" in Goa. "I was approached by many people who told me his name. He is a powerful person with money. It would explain why the police have tried to cover up the case," she has been quoted as saying by the British newspaper.

"People are saying they have had enough of him and his group and they want something done about it. I don't think he will get away with it once the Central Bureau of Investigation takes over because they don't take instructions from anyone. Hopefully we will get to the truth," she says.

Scarlett's body was found on Goa's Anjuna beach on February 18, and two persons have so far been arrested on suspicion. Initially the police said it was a case of suicide, but once MacKeown raised a hue and cry it was made into a murder case. A second autopsy showed that the teenager was raped and murdered, and that she had taken ecstasy, cocaine and LSD before her death.

When Scarlett's body was flown back to the United Kingdom for a funeral, a third autopsy showed that parts of her uterus, kidneys, stomach and liver were missing. Getting them back was also on MacKeown's agenda during her visit to India, but it remains unfulfilled.

The bereaved mother told The Guardian that she found the local people in Goa supportive of her attempts to find outt he truth about her daughter's murder. "A lot of them feel very responsible that it happened to Scarlett in their country."

While in India she was also contacted by a Bollywood film director who plans to make a film on the high-profile case, presumably Prabhakar Shukla. "I think it could be a good idea if it shows the corrupt officials in Goa but I hear he is going to call it Rave Party, which doesn't sound good," MacKeown says.

The Rediff News Bureau