Indian man is found guilty of raping and murdering Irish backpacker Danielle McLaughlin in a field in Goa
14 February 2025, 12:00
An Indian man has been found guilty of the rape and murder of Irish backpacker Danielle McLaughlin in 2017.
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Bikat Bhagat has been convicted eight years after her death - after she was found dead in a field in Goa.
The local man, Bhagat, 31, was arrested within hours of her body being found, but the case faced years of delays.
Danielle’s family said 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.
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"We are content now with the judicial confirmation in public of what we already sadly knew. What further legal processes now take place we will observe.
"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.
"We are also grateful to our lawyer back home, Desmond Doherty, who worked closely with Vikram in explaining to us the trial process and events at the trial.
"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 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 said in the statement following the conviction of a man for killing the Irish backpacker.
"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."
Irish deputy premier Simon Harris said: "I have been made aware of the guilty verdict issued in the murder trial concerning Danielle McLaughlin, who was killed while travelling in India in 2018.
"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.
"In partnership with the UK, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - through the Embassy in New Delhi, consulate general in Mumbai and consular assistance unit in Dublin - has been consistently engaged on this case to seek progress towards a conclusion to the court case.
"While nothing can ease the pain of their loss, I hope that this verdict represents some closure for the 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."
Liverpool John Moores University student Danielle suffered cerebral damage and constriction of the neck, causing her death.
She had been travelling with a female Australian friend, and the pair were staying in a beach hut in the run-up to her death.
The killer knew the victim from previous visits to the country, and Danielle was last seen on CCTV with Bhagat.
He is reported to have confessed to police after his arrest, before retracting it, claiming he was in love with Danielle, but three of his friends killed her in front of him.
He claimed to have been ‘framed’ by police, saying they forced him to incriminate himself, putting finger prints on beer bottles.
Local lawyer Vikram Varma, who helped Danielle’s family, also suspected more than one person had been involved in the crime.
Bhagat named three others, but they were interviewed by police and were ruled out of the investigation.
