A man has been found guilty in India of the 2017 rape and murder of Co Donegal backpacker Danielle McLaughlin. Local man Vikat Bhagat (31) was found guilty at the District and Sessions Court in south Goa on Friday morning. Ms McLaughlin (28), from Buncrana, was found dead in a secluded spot in Canacona, an area of Goa popular with holidaymakers, in March 2017. She had travelled to Goa with a female Australian friend, and the pair were staying in a beach hut. They had earlier been celebrating Holi – a Hindu festival – at a nearby village.
Ms McLaughlin’s body was found the next day by a farmer in a field in a remote location. A postmortem found cerebral damage and constriction of the neck had caused the death for the former Liverpool John Moores University student. In a statement issued through their solicitor Desmond Doherty, Ms McLaughlin’s mother Andrea Brannigan and sister Joleen McLaughlin Brannigan said justice had “finally been achieved”.
“There was no other suspect or gang involved in Danielle’s death and (Vikat) Bhagat was solely responsible for cruelly ending her beautiful life,” they said. “We have endured what has been effectively an eight-year murder trial with many delays and problems, right until the end, all taking place thousands of miles away from Danielle’s home in Buncrana, Co Donegal.”
They said there were content to have “judicial confirmation in public of what we already sadly knew” and that Ms McLaughlin’s family would follow whatever further legal processes take place. “We are grateful to the court for allowing us, as is our right under the Indian legal system, representation at the trial. We wish to thank our lawyer in Goa, Mr Vikram Varma for attending to all that for us.”
The family thanked Mr Doherty, who worked with their legal representative in India, for explaining the trial process and events in the Goa court. “Without this joint legal representation we had, we would have been lost in the process. This was an eight-year murder trial that has been very tiring. We are glad it is over,” they added. They said the quest for truth and justice is “no easy matter, as we have discovered”.
“In memory of Danielle, we stayed patient and respectful of the Indian legal system with the aid also of the British and Irish consular staff,” they added. “We are glad to have visited the area where Danielle spent her last days on this earth, painful and difficult as that was. “We now hope not only that Danielle can rest in peace, but that we as a family can have some peace and comfort knowing that the person who brutally raped and murdered our precious Danielle has been convicted.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris said he hoped the verdict would give the McLaughlin family some closure. “I would like to pay tribute to Danielle’s family, and in particular, to her mother Andrea for her determination and resilience in the face of unimaginable tragedy,” he said. Mr Harris said his department has, in partnership with the UK, the Irish Embassy in New Delhi, Consulate General in Mumbai and Consular Assistance Unit in Dublin, been “engaged on this case to seek progress towards a conclusion”.
He added that nothing could ease the pain caused by the loss experienced Ms McLaughlin’s family. “My thoughts will remain with them as they continue to grieve the loss of their beloved daughter and sister. May Danielle rest in peace.” – PA
