Goa court convicts man for rape, murder of British-Irish woman in 2017

A Goa court on Friday convicted a man for the rape and murder of a 28-year-old British-Irish woman in 2017, The Indian Express reported.

Judge Kshama Joshi of the Margao District and Sessions Court convicted the man, Vikat Bhagat, under sections of the Indian Penal Code related to murder, sexual assault and the act of destroying evidence of a crime or giving false information to protect an offender, The Times of India reported.

The arguments on the quantum of Bhagat’s sentence were heard on Friday. The court is expected to sentence him on Monday.

The woman, Danielle McLaughlin, was a British-Irish citizen and hailed from Buncrana in County Donegal in Ireland. She had come to Goa with her friend on holiday in February 2017, The Indian Express reported.

McLaughlin was found dead in a field near Palolem beach in South Goa’s Canacona on March 14, 2017. She had attended a party near the beach the night before.

The police subsequently arrested Bhagat in connection with the crime and charged him with sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to murder, rape, robbery and destruction of evidence. The woman had befriended Bhagat, who was a local, during an earlier backpacking trip to Goa.

The trial in the case began in April 2018.

During the proceedings, the prosecution sought “maximum punishment” for Bhagat. “She lost…

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