Sentence comes eight years after crime
Margao: The District and Sessions Court in Margao on Monday sentenced 31-year-old Vikat Bhagat, a resident of Canacona, to rigorous life imprisonment for the rape and murder of Irish-British national Danielle McLaughlin in 2017, bringing an eight-year-old legal battle for justice to an end.
The court had last week pronounced Bhagat guilty of raping and murdering the 28-year-old tourist, whose body was found in an isolated area in Canacona. Bhagat was convicted under Sections 302 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code. Bhagat was present in the courtroom when the judge pronounced the sentence. Wearing a light blue shirt, the convict stood motionless as judge Kshama Joshi read the order on the quantum of sentence.
The judge sentenced Bhagat to undergo rigorous life imprisonment for rape and murder and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000.
The judge also sentenced Bhagat to undergo three years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 for destruction of evidence. The court ruled that the sentences will run concurrently.
Family members of the deceased, including her mother Andrea, sister Joylene, childhood friend Louise and members of the British consulate were present in the courtroom.
With everyone waiting with bated breath, the order was finally pronounced after nearly a two-hour wait and as Bhagat signed and accepted his punishment, the deceased’s family had one last salvo at him, waving him goodbye to spend the rest of his life in jail.
Later, speaking to reporters, Vikram Varma, the lawyer representing the deceased’s mother, said, “The family is relieved that justice has been served. The trial went on for eight years, as there was no eyewitness. The crime was committed in an isolated place. It was a difficult task for the prosecutor to put the circumstantial evidence together and convince the court beyond reasonable doubt.”
Stating that the prosecution and the police did a fantastic job, Varma thanked all those who worked for eight years to serve justice to the deceased’s family. “Police teams brought witnesses who were not in Goa in time to depose before the judge,” he said.
Mclaughlin, a former student of Liverpool John Moores University, had visited Goa in 2017 with a friend to celebrate Holi. Her body was found at an isolated area in Canacona in a pool of blood.
Former Canacona police inspector Filomena Costa said it was a difficult case given the nature and circumstances of the crime.
