Date:21/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/21/stories/2008032160331400.htm

National

Drugs, alcohol in Scarlette’s viscera

Prakash Kamat

PANAJI: The Goa police on Thursday said the viscera of the slain British teenager Scarlette Eden Keeling tested positive for drugs as well as alcohol.

The viscera of the 15-year-old girl, whose semi-nude body was found on north Goa’s Anjuna beach on February 18, were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Kalina, Mumbai, for chemical analysis.

Sharing the findings of the report with presspersons here, Inspector-General of Police Kishen Kumar said, “I can say this much at this stage that the report which we received today [Thursday] is positive for traces of drugs as well as alcohol.”

He said the findings of the chemical analysis strengthened the police case against two persons arrested so far.

Placido Carvalho, an alleged drug peddler and Samson D’Souza, a local barman, are now in police custody. Traces of two types of drugs — cocaine and morphine — were found in all samples, the police said. The report quantified the traces of a cocktail of drugs at 92-100 mg.

According to police investigations so far, Scarlette died of “drug overdose and drowning” after one of the suspects allegedly drugged her while the other allegedly raped her and abandoned her on the beach leading to her eventual death in the shallow waters of the Anjuna beach.

To a question, Mr. Kumar said insinuations that the police were soft on Murali Sagar, who was present at the scene of the crime, were wrong. “He has been examined and his statement recorded under Section 164 of the IPC in front of a magistrate.” The police went on record earlier that Murali was no longer a suspect.

The Goa police are investigating the case as a homicidal death based on a second autopsy of the body.