Main accused released on bail in Scarlett case

Main accused released on bail in Scarlett case Placido Carvalho, the main accused in the sensational Scarlett Keeling case was released on bail today after Goa's Children Court said "there is no prima facie material against him bringing out his nexus with the offences of murder and rape." "Even after 23 days of detention of the accused (Placido Carvalho), I do not find that there is any prima facie material against him bringing out his nexus with the offences of murder and rape," Children's Court president Desmond D'costa ruled in his order. Carvalho was released on furnishing bail bonds of Rs 25,000 with one local surety of like amount. The accused was asked to deposit his passport before the court within seven days of his release from the custody. The court had granted bail to Carvalho on Friday. Carvalho, an alleged drug dealer was arrested along with another accused Samson D'souza for their involvement in drugging, raping and leaving the 15-year-old teenager to die in shallow water. Scarlett's bruised corpse was found on Anjuna beach on February 18 following which the police had arrested Carvalho on March nine. He was booked under Section 302, 376, 328 read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code and Section 8 (1) (2) of the Goa Children's Act, 2003. The court order in the bail application also indirectly castigated police investigation which had zeroed in on Carvalho for his involvement in the offence. Giving respite for Carvalho from the drugging charges levelled against him, the court cited the statement of British witness Michael Mannion. The British witness, who is currently struggling to get his `look out' notice lifted by Goa police, had stated that he had seen Scarlett and Carvalho sniffing cocaine in the kitchen of the shack. Mannion had stated that he left shack at 5 am and had seen other accused Samson D'souza, trying to remove the clothes of the victim. The court has ruled that prima facie from Mannion's statement, without going into the truthfulness or reliability of his statement, at this stage there is nothing in his statement to show that the accused was involved in sexual assault and murder of the victim. While police had charged Carvalho of drugging Scarlett, the Children's Court bail order has said that there is no material showing that the present applicant had given any `ecstasy tablets' or had offered cocaine to the victim.

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