Indian court lets off 2 accused in British teenager's murder

A local court in India's western state of Goa Friday acquitted two men accused of rape and murder of a British teenager, Scarlett Keeling, more than eight years ago, officials said.

The Goa court cleared the two men - Samson D'souza, 37, and Placido Carvalho, 48, of all charges including culpable homicide and rape of 15-year-old visiting tourist.

"I am devastated. The Indian judicial system has totally let me down," Keeling's mother, Fiona MacKeown told reporters after the verdict. "My daughter was murdered. Someone should be held responsible."

MacKeown has come to Goa, hoping her daughter would get justice. She is likely to challenge the verdict.

On morning of Feb. 19, 2008, Keeling's body was found on a Goan beach.

D'Souza and Carvalho, the two beach workers were accused of sexually assaulting Keeling after giving her a cocktail of drugs and leaving her unconscious in the shallow waters along the beach.

The teenager Keeling from Bideford in Devon, was in India on a six-month trip along with her family at the time of her death.

Her family had stated she had been at a Valentine's Day beach party while they had gone travelling.

The police in Goa initially dismissed the case as an "accidental suicide," but a vigorous campaign by her family forced authorities to hand over the case to India's premier investigating agency - Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The officials carried out a second post-mortem examination in March 2008, which revealed Keeling had been drugged and raped before drowning in seawater.

Source : XINHUA