A goa state court in western India sentenced a 31 -year -old man to life prison on Monday Rape and assassinate an Irishman In a popular tourism station almost eight years ago.
The body of Danielle McLaughlin, 28, was found by a farmer on a popular beach with Goa tourists in March 2017. The autopsy showed That brain damage and the constriction of the neck caused his death, reported the BBC.
Vikat Bhagat was found guilty of the crime on Friday. McLaughlin’s family in a statement said that he and his friends were “grateful to the prosecutor and the investigator for justice”.
Generally, rape victims cannot be appointed under Indian law. In this case, the victim’s family spoke to the media to raise awareness of his case.
Arvind Tengse / AP
The crime stressed persistent violence against women In India, despite more difficult laws against the sexual assault imposed after the 2012 death of a young woman who was raped on a bus in New Delhi.
In a statement after Bhagat was found guilty, Danielle’s mother Andrea Brannigan and her sister Joleen McLaughlin Brannigan, said that the judge “had finally been made”, the BBC reported.
“There was no other suspect or gang involved in the death of Danielle and Bhagat was solely responsible for sorely ending her good life,” they said.
A Published separate declaration On behalf of the family on the Facebook page “Truth for Danielle McLaughlin” said that “the truth had finally been heard”.
“We have lost almost 8 years of our lives to fight for Danielle and we are so grateful that we can now start to cry her immeasurable loss. She was much more than a girl, a sister and a best friend. She lit each room she entered and touches the life of all those who met her. She brought so much good to this world and he quickly took her from this world with her cruelty, “said the statement.
Goa is a popular hiking destination in India. Millions of tourists visit its many seaside resorts each year.
But his reputation for tropical paradise was spoiled by high -level crimes involving foreigners. In 2008, the British schoolgirls Scarlett Keeling, 15, were drugged, raped and murdered in Goa in a case that made the headlines.
McLaughlin was a student at the University of Liverpool John Moores who stayed in a beach hut with an Australian friend before her death, the BBC reported. The couple celebrated Holi, a Hindu festival, in a neighboring village. She left the village at night and His body was found the day after.
Many cases of crimes against women Not to be reported in India due to the stigma surrounding sexual violence, as well as the lack of faith in the police. Activists say that the new requirements for determining the sentence have not dissuaded rapes and that the number of rape cases recorded has increased. In 2022, police recorded 31,516 rape reports – a jum of 20% compared to 2021, according to the National Bureau of Crime Files.