“Scarlett was assaulted” confirms witness

Michael Anthony Mannion, also known as Mike Masala, a key witness in the murder of Scarlett Keeling, has finally come forward.

Mannion, a friend of Samson D’Souza saw all that happened at the now infamous Luis Shack, including Samson’s sexual assault on Scarlett. The witness had been on a run from his friends who threatened to kill him.

Mannion said, ”Scarlett was in an inebriated condition. I saw Samson on top of her.” ”I am not completely happy that I did not intervene that night. It is not an easy burden to carry,” he adds.

As Mannion let go of his baggage of guilt, the role of Murli, a close friend of the Anjuna sarpanch Edwin, has been brought back into focus.

In his statement to the police, Mannion said that Murli, Shanaboy and Luis were in the kitchen area of the shack and Scarlett joined them. At about 5am, Murli promised to escort Scarlett back to Curly’s shack and assured him that she would be safe.

He adds, ”I noticed five minutes later that Samson had left the shack. At that point, I saw Murli driving away on a scooter and in the beam of the headlight of the scooter, I saw Samson on top of Scarlett. It appeared that Samson was trying to remove Scarlett’s clothes.”

Recalling his fear, the Witness says, ”I was scared as they were local guys. I could have been overpowered. I feared threat to my life.”

In the wake of the statement of Mannion, Murli can no longer be a mystery man in the shadows.

The government on the other hand is hitting back at Scarlett’s mother Fiona Mackeown and clearly wants her off their back. Goa Home Minister Ravi Naik has said, ”We will ask the centre not to allow Fiona to come to India.”

Right from the start, this case has received national and international attention not just because of the role of the police, but also because of the many accusations leveled by Fiona Mackeown.

Earlier on the backfoot, it seems now the government and particularly the home minister is in no mood to take this lying down.

Meanwhile, agency reports say that Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat will brief Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the Scarlett death case on Tuesday afternoon.

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