He also claims he had earlier warned Mr D’Souza to stay away from her as she was clearly a minor.
In a statement given to the murdered girl’s mother Fiona MacKeown and her lawyer, Mr Mannion, who had been staying with Mr D’Souza and his French wife Cecile, says Scarlett arrived at Lui’s bar on Anjuna beach at about 3am and was already inebriated and fell over on the steps outside.
He said she came over to talk to him and told him she was 15 years old and had no money for a taxi home.
Mr Mannion saw her leave the bar at about 5am with a man named Murli who he believed was giving her a lift home.
Five minutes later Mr Mannion noticed Mr D’Souza too had left.
When Mr Mannion went outside he allegedly saw Mr Murli driving away and Mr D’Souza with Scarlett.
The girl’s body was found by locals near to Lui’s bar at about 6.30am.
According to Mr Mannion, he left immediately because he was afraid to intervene.
“I was in a complete state of panic, shock. I got on my bike and rode off,” he said.
During the alleged assault, according to police, Miss Keeling began to lose consciousness. They suspect Mr D’Souza then tried to revive her by splashing water on her face.
When he saw a man with a torch approaching, he panicked and left her to die.
Asked for his reaction when he heard a young girl had been found dead, Mr Mannion said “Initially I said nothing, I did nothing. Then two of the people working in the shack were called in for questioning. I was told then by another local to stay away and not to say anything.”
Mr Mannion said he left Anjuna on the 23 February and had been travelling around India, scared for his life. Last week Indian authorities put its ports and airports on alert to stop Mr Mannion from leaving the country, saying he was crucial to their investigation, and gave assurances of his safety.
When Mr Mannion heard the police were anxious to talk to him, he approached the British High Commission in Mumbai but was told it could not interfere in Indian judicial proceedings.
He said he had now come forward after the police promised he would be safe.
“It is important for me to be here,” he said. “A 15 year old girl has been raped and murdered. Justice needs to be done.”
