In the anticipatory bail application he had moved before the Goa Children’s Court a copy of which is with this newspaper, Julio said Scarlett and he had gone to Gokarna on the 6th or 7th of February at Fiona’s invitation for a week. They stayed at a beachside hotel with huts. Scarlett shared a hut with him. The arrangement had been made by Fiona, and the “entire family was cool with it” he claims.
The Goa police has been holding out the threat of a rape charge against Julio, given that Scarlett was a minor.
Julio said Scarlett and he returned to Goa on February 13 and Fiona did not object. The last time he saw Scarlett was on the night of February 17 when he dropped her to the Bean Me Up restaurant around 8.30 p.m. She was found dead on the morning of February 18.
Based on Scarlett’s diary entries that revealed she was in a live-in relationship with Julio, the Goa police had filed an FIR against him under Section 8(1)(2) of the Goa Children’s Act 2003. He was granted anticipatory bail by the courts.
The police said they have not checked out Julio’s Gokarna holiday story. “It is not relevant to the investigation,” a senior official said.
Eyewitnesses also told the police they saw Scarlett snort cocaine at Lui’s Bar with one of the accused Placido Carvalho. According to witnesses, she asked for the coke. The traces of heroin found in the chemical analysis is being put down to adulterated cocaine.
Police say the 110 ml of alcohol detected by forensics though not fatal, would have caused heavy drowsiness in the teenager


CBI May take over case

Panaji, pti:

Under pressure on the credibility of police probe, Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat has said that the state government is willing to hand over the British teenager Scarlett Keeling’s murder case to the CBI.
Kamat made the announcement on the floor of the Assembly late on Monday. Scarlett’s mother, Fiona Mackeown, had sought a CBI inquiry into her death and alleged cover up by the police.
Rubbishing the allegations of a cover up, the chief minister said that “there are no moves to hush up and no attempts to hide anything in this case.”
The statements came after opposition benches highlighted rampant drug trade and deteriorating law and order situation in the coastal state.
Kamat, replying to all the allegations, said that there was a sustained campaign to spoil Goa’s name to harm the tourism industry.
“These isolated incidents happen all over the world but a systematic campaign was carried against the state for over 20 days by the media,” Kamat said.