A man who raped and murdered an Irish woman who was travelling in India has been sentenced to life in prison. Danielle McLaughlin, 28, from Buncrana in County Donegal, was travelling with a female Australian friend when her body was found in a secluded spot in Canacona, an area of Goa popular with holidaymakers. Vikat Bhagat was found guilty at the District and Sessions Court in south Goa, India, on Friday, and sentenced to life after prosecutors asked for the death sentence.
Ms McLaughlin and her friend had been staying in a beach hut to celebrate Holi – a Hindu spring festival – at a nearby village. The day after the celebration, a farmer found Ms McLaughlin’s body in a remote field. In a statement released on Friday after Bhagat was found guilty, her mother and sister said after eight years, justice has ‘finally been achieved’. Her mother Andrea Brannigan and sister Joleen McLaughlin Brannigan said in a statement: ‘There was no other suspect or gang involved in Danielle’s death and (Vikat) Bhagat was solely responsible for cruelly ending her beautiful life.
‘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, County Donegal.’. Bhagat received another life sentence for rape and a three-year sentence for destroying evidence. Ms McLaughlin’s family have been vocal throughout their ordeal to bring up her name and experience – which is rare, given most rape victims in India are not named to prevent them from being shunned.
Chloe Laws, an award-winning writer and campaigner for women’s rights, told Metro the McLaughlin family’s eight-year wait for justice was far too long. On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women. Throughout the year we will be bringing you stories that shine a light on the sheer scale of the epidemic. With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to engage and empower our readers on the issue of violence against women.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk. Read more:. She said: ‘Eight years to wait for a sentence is far too long — femicide must be taken more seriously and urgently addressed worldwide. ‘Prevention should be the priority, yet it’s disheartening to see how much of society refuses to connect the dots between cases like these and gendered violence.
‘Our newsfeeds are relentlessly filled with horrifying stories of male violence against women and marginalised genders—though it is rarely named as such. ‘Instead, we see whataboutism and scapegoating. Misogyny, the key and consistent factor in the murders of women, is rarely identified as the root cause. ‘Today alone, I read about Danielle McLaughlin and a woman who was shot in a pub in Kent on Valentine’s Day.
‘The online discourse around both cases has been flooded with racism, distracting from the real issue: misogyny and male violence against women and girls.’. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: Moment woman screams ‘he’s killed her’ after mum shot dead outside pub. Arrow MORE: Bayern Munich can knock Celtic out of the Champions League as Harry Kane’s long wait for a trophy nears an end.
