Pooka
03-11-08, 08:05 PM
The mother of a British girl found dead on a beach in Goa has said police may question her about possible negligence.
Fiona MacKeown, 43, left her daughter Scarlett Keeling, 15, in Goa while she travelled to another part of India.
The family's lawyer accused the Indian authorities of trying to shift blame and said Scarlett had been left in the care of two local women.
Mrs MacKeown, who lives near Bideford, Devon, said: "I don't think I was negligent. I just think I was naive."
The teenager's body was found at the resort of Anjuna on 19 February.
Indian police originally insisted that Miss Keeling had drowned, but a man has now been charged with her rape.
The superintendent of police, Bosco George, in Goa, told the BBC "we will have to question the mother" but they would not say in connection with what.
He also said they have made no formal or informal request to ask her to come for questioning.
JP Singh, chief secretary to the government of Goa, told the BBC the case had been blown out of proportion.
He said the coverage of the case had overlooked basic facts including that the 15-year-old had been left alone and had a history of drug abuse.
Mrs McKeown said she left her daughter in the care of a 25-year-old tour guide that Miss Keeling had befriended while she and her six other children went to the neighbouring state of Karnataka in early February.
Police criticised
She told the BBC: "I think I was probably naive and too trusting of the people around her.
"That's probably the worst thing I've done. I don't think I was negligent in any other way.
"As far as I was concerned she was in very good hands and these people cared for her."
She added: "She wasn't left here, at the end of the day. She was in contact, in constant contact with us."
Indian police have faced severe criticism over their handling of the case.
Goa's Tourism Minister Francisco X Pacheco accused officers of deliberately trying to cover up Miss Keeling's murder.
Local man Samson D'Souza, 29, appeared in court on Monday charged with her rape but not with murder.
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7289679.stm)
I see no mention of a Father here.
The Bitch should be strung up...
Fiona MacKeown, 43, left her daughter Scarlett Keeling, 15, in Goa while she travelled to another part of India.
The family's lawyer accused the Indian authorities of trying to shift blame and said Scarlett had been left in the care of two local women.
Mrs MacKeown, who lives near Bideford, Devon, said: "I don't think I was negligent. I just think I was naive."
The teenager's body was found at the resort of Anjuna on 19 February.
Indian police originally insisted that Miss Keeling had drowned, but a man has now been charged with her rape.
The superintendent of police, Bosco George, in Goa, told the BBC "we will have to question the mother" but they would not say in connection with what.
He also said they have made no formal or informal request to ask her to come for questioning.
JP Singh, chief secretary to the government of Goa, told the BBC the case had been blown out of proportion.
He said the coverage of the case had overlooked basic facts including that the 15-year-old had been left alone and had a history of drug abuse.
Mrs McKeown said she left her daughter in the care of a 25-year-old tour guide that Miss Keeling had befriended while she and her six other children went to the neighbouring state of Karnataka in early February.
Police criticised
She told the BBC: "I think I was probably naive and too trusting of the people around her.
"That's probably the worst thing I've done. I don't think I was negligent in any other way.
"As far as I was concerned she was in very good hands and these people cared for her."
She added: "She wasn't left here, at the end of the day. She was in contact, in constant contact with us."
Indian police have faced severe criticism over their handling of the case.
Goa's Tourism Minister Francisco X Pacheco accused officers of deliberately trying to cover up Miss Keeling's murder.
Local man Samson D'Souza, 29, appeared in court on Monday charged with her rape but not with murder.
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7289679.stm)
I see no mention of a Father here.
The Bitch should be strung up...