Fiona Mackeown, mother of slain British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling, has decided to take her daughter's body back to her hometown for the final rites next week.
"She will be taking the body next week and we are coordinating with the undertaker on this issue," said Vikram Varma, Fiona's lawyer.
Scarlett was allegedly drugged, raped and murdered on Goa's popular Anjuna beach on February 18. Two locals - barman Samson D'souza and an alleged drug dealer Placido Carvalho - have been arrested on the charge of drugging, raping and murdering Scarlett.
Fiona has already been issued a no-objection certificate, by the local police, to take the body back home.
Varma said Fiona was trying to decide on whether to return to the United Kingdom and come back to fight for justice or wait here. Goa Home Minister Ravi Naik has already stated that the government does not favour her return.
"We will write to the Union Home Ministry and the External Affairs Ministry not to re-issue her the visa and ban her entry in India again," Naik had said earlier.
Varma said Fiona wants to continue the fight for justice till all those involved in the alleged cover-up of Scarlett's murder are prosecuted. "We are waiting for the communication from the Prime Minister's office. If it does not come in the next four to five days, we will move the High Court with the petition," Varma said.
Fiona had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into her daughter's death.
Meanwhile, a sting operation conducted by a leading national channel has sparked a heated debate in the state, with the opposition demanding an inquiry by the central agencies in the allegations leveled in the operation.
The operation, aired on NDTV, alleges Home Minister Ravi Naik's son Roy's involvement in the drug trade. It reportedly showed deputy superintendent of police Shamba Sawant speaking about the minister's son's involvement in the business of drugs.
The sting has come close on the heels of the allegations leveled by Fiona, alleging the home minister's involvement in the drug trade.
State police chief B S Brar had convened a special press conference on Thursday to clear the allegations about the home minister. "The home minister or his son has no connection with the drug trade," the Director General of Police stated.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, has demanded that central agencies should investigate the matter as it involves the home minister himself.
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