Panaji: Nearly eight years after an Irish-British woman was raped and murdered during her Goa visit, a court on Friday convicted the lone accused in the case, a 31-year-old local resident.
Judge Kshama Joshi of the District and Sessions Court at Margao town found Vikat Bhagat, the lone accused, guilty of raping and murdering the woman, Danielle McLaughin (28), said Vikram Varma, the lawyer representing Andrea Brannigan, the mother of
the deceased.
The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on Monday (February 17), he said.
Varma informed that the public prosecutor has sought “maximum sentence” for the accused from the court. Though the lawyer did not elaborate, such heinous offences attract life imprisonment or death.
McLaughin, who arrived in the coastal state as a backpacker tourist, was found dead in a forested area of Canacona village in South Goa district on March 14, 2017.
Bhagat, a local resident, was later arrested by the police on rape and murder charges.
The accused, lodged at the Central Jail, Colvale in North Goa, on Thursday attended the court proceeding through video conferencing. The verdict was slated to be pronounced on Thursday, but it was postponed for a day later by the trial court judge. Brannigan, the mother of the victim, is in Goa to witness the conclusion of the judicial process.
“The family friends are so thankful to the public prosecutor and the investigating officer for justice. They have
treated her like their daughter and tirelessly fought for her. The accused has been found guilty of taking Danielle away from us,” family members
of the victim said in a statement after the verdict was pronounced.
As per the chargesheet filed by the police, McLaughlin, who hailed from Donegal in Northwest Ireland, was
on a visit to Goa in 2017 when Bhagat, a local she befriended during her stay, murdered her after spending an evening
with her.
The police investigation revealed the Irish-British woman was struck with a big stone multiple times, resulting in her death. The victim was found lying in a pool of blood with no clothes and injuries on her head and face, according to the chargesheet. With agency inputs