Goa court convicts local man for rape-murder of Irish-British woman

Nearly eight years after IrishBritish national was raped and brutally murdered in Goa a court on Friday convicted the lone accused in the case a 31yearold local residentWhile the prosecution demanded the maximum sentence for the accused Vikat Bhagat the judge said she would pronounce the quantum of sentence on February 17In a statement family members of her who was 28 years old at the time of her death in 2017 said they were thankful to everyone who took efforts to ensure justice for herJudge Kshama Joshi of the District and Sessions Court at Margao in South Goa found Bhagat guilty of both the offences said Vikram Varma the lawyer representing the victims motherThe court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on Monday he said adding that the public prosecutor demanded the maximum sentence for the accusedThe maximum sentence in such cases is capital punishmentShe was found dead in a forested area of Canacona village in South Goa district on March 14 2017Her mother was in Goa to witness the verdictOur thoughts are with the family today We continue to provide support as required said the British High Commission in a statementAfter the verdict the victims family members also issued a media statement which was read out by their representativeWe as her family and friends are so thankful to everyone involved in our fight for justice they have treated her like their daughter and have tirelessly fought for her it saidThey were thankful that their hard work paid off and Vikat Bhagat was found guilty of taking her from them the family saidWe have lost nearly eight years of our lives fighting for her and we are so thankful that we now can start grieving her immeasurable loss the statement said noting that she made the most of her 28 years of life and lived every day to the fullestShe was so kind and always so happy she didnt deserve what he put her through We are so grateful to have been able to be here for the verdict and to see the Goa that she loved so much the family saidAs per the charge sheet filed by Goa Police the victim who hailed from Donegal in Northwest Ireland was on a visit to Goa as a tourist in March 2017 when Bhagat befriended her He murdered her after spending an evening with her the charge sheet saidShe was struck with a stone which resulted in her death it saidHer body was found lying in a pool of blood without clothes with injuries to the head and faceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever