Goa, March 12: Police in Goa have named the Briton they believe to be a crucial witness to the rape and murder of a schoolgirl at a Goa beach resort.

Michael Anthony Mannion, known as Masala Mike, is thought to have been drinking with Scarlett Keeling, 15, and her alleged attacker hours before her death.

The teenager’s half-naked body was found in the beach resort of Anjuna last month. Police later charged Samson D’Souza, a local 29-year-old man, with her rape — but not the murder.

Officers are looking for Mannion, who is thought to have lived with D’Souza, and have offered “full protection” if he came forward. The police believe he is still in the country.

Scarlett’s mother Fiona MacKeown has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into claims that officers covered up her daughter’s rape and murder.

“I have no faith in the leadership of the Goa police,” MacKeown said in a letter to the Prime Minister. “The administration tried its best to hush up the death as a simple case of drowning.”

MacKeown, however, is worried at the possibility of police charging her with neglect for leaving her daughter alone. She was in Karnataka when 15-year-old Scarlett was found dead, according to the police.

“I am worried at these reports. The police are deflecting the real issue and taking the focus away by saying that I neglected my daughter, which is not true,” MacKeown told Reuters from Goa.

“She was not alone and was under the care of a very responsible person. The police are only trying to cover up the case and I don’t have any faith in them.”

A police officer said charging MacKeown with neglect was a possibility.

“There are provisions under Indian laws to charge her with neglect,” said Kishan Kumar, a senior police officer. “That is a possibility, but we are not saying anything more now”.

Under Goa’s child protection laws, neglecting a minor is a serious offence and carries a prison term of up to six months and a fine, officials said.