Front Page

‘Scared my daughter may become Scarlette II’

PANAJI: Fearing her minor daughter may become ‘Scarlette II,’ an exasperated German woman says they were “crushed under the weight of the rich and mighty” and life became “hell” prompting them to drop the charge of rape of the girl against the son of a high-profile Goan Minister.

The Goa Children’s Court, meanwhile, granted conditional bail to Rohit, son of State Education Minister Atanasio Monserratte, accused of raping the 14-year-old German girl on October 2 after the woman decided to withdraw the case.

A day after she dropped the charge, the mother in a letter to authorities said she was scared of proceeding with the sensational case since she was afraid that her daughter may meet the same fate of British teenager Scarlette Keeling. The Britisher was found dead on Goa’s popular Anjuna Beach on February 18 after she was allegedly drugged and raped.

“We are unable to lead normal lives and even our lives themselves are at stake. We are crushed under the weight of the rich and mighty and are strangers unable to beat the system,” the mother stated.

“Since the day I have filed the complaint on October 14, life has become living hell for both me and my daughter. There are allegations and counter allegations in the media and we have now realised that we have been trapped in a situation (that is) not in our interest. We are also scared of being Scarlette II,” said the letter written and submitted by the woman on Monday afternoon.

The letter said she was withdrawing her complaint against Rohit. The mother had alleged that he had raped her daughter. The police had booked Rohit on rape charges based on her complaint. He was arrested almost a month after filing of the case. – PTI

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu