by ARES - Daijiworld Media Network Goa
Panaji, Mar 13: Almost 48 hours after the first arrest, Goa police tonight arrested prime accused involved in murdering British teenager who was found dead on goa's popular beach last month.
Placido Carvalho, a prime suspect in the case, whose anticipatory bail was rejected by district and sessions court today was arrested tonight under murder charges.
File Picture: Samson D'Souza arrested
Earlier, the police had arrested Samson D'Souza, 29, charging him of raping British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling, few hours before her bruised and semi nude body was found on goa's popular Anjuna beach.
Police officials, who were busy interrogating the accused, stated that he has been charged under section 302 of IPC. Samson and Carvalho were the two suspects amongst group of boys who were last seen with Scarlett on the fateful night.
Carvalho, who claims himself to be self employed, had told police that he had seen Scarlett walking in the shack in an inebriated condition that night and later she had moved out with one Murli who works in nearby shack named `Curlie.'
Right from the beginning of the investigation, police have been questioning Carvalho along with Scarlett's Goan boyfriend Julio Lobo.
Another suspect Samson D'Souza is already behind bars for allegedly raping Scarlett. His arrest was executed after an eyewitness gave a testimony that `he had seen Samson in a compromising position with Scarlett.'
Earlier in the day, Goa police had stated that they are in the final stage and will crack the entire case soon.
"It's just a matter of tying lose ends. We have almost cracked the entire case," inspector general of police Kishan Kumar told pti.
Carvalho's arrest attains significance as for the first time police have charged the accused with murder. Samson was charged with the rape merely because Scarlett was a minor and he was seen having sex with her behind a shack couple of hours before her death.
Scarlett's death had snowballed into a major controversy nationally with questions being raised on the safety of tourists in Goa, which rolls out red carpet to 24 lakh tourists (including four lakh foreigners) every year.
The initial police investigations into the case were also criticized as police sub inspector Nerlon Albuquerque, in charge of Anjuna police station, was allegedly neglecting Scarlett's mother's plea that her daughter was raped and murdered.
The police investigations gained speed only after the second autopsy report on her body in which the medicos recommended that the police should investigate the death as homicide.
Even as the police had arrested Samson, Scarlett's mother, Fiona mackowen, had expressed her doubts on the investigating agency.
The mother of nine children, including Scarlett, had alleged police, criminal and politician nexus in this coastal state. She has said that the homicidal cases are being pushed as suicidal or accidental.
The British lady, who is represented by a supreme court lawyer, had expressed full faith in PM and urged him to break the nexus.