PANAJI: A local Goa court Friday convicted Vikat Bhagat (31) for the rape and murder of a 28-year-old Irish national in March 2017, bringing to a close a trial that lasted over eight years. Additional sessions judge Kshama Joshi found Bhagat guilty of murder, rape, robbery and destruction of evidence.
The sentence will be pronounced Monday.
The victim, who was a former student of Liverpool John Moores University, was found dead in an isolated field in Canacona, Goa’s southernmost taluk. The prosecution stated that Bhagat lured the victim to the secluded spot between 10pm and 7am where he committed the crime.
The autopsy revealed that the victim had suffered cerebral damage and constriction of the neck, which led to her death. She had also sustained severe injuries to her face and head from a broken bottle.
The prosecution’s case was strengthened by substantial physical evidence. Police discovered injury marks on Bhagat’s groin and thigh, believed to have been sustained during the assault.
The victim’s blood was found on his clothes and scooter, and investigators recovered a backpack containing bloodstained clothing near his residence in Canacona.
‘Difficult part was to keep witnesses together, testify as per statements to police’
Investigating officer Rajendra Prabhudessai, now a deputy superintendent of police, told TOI that the prosecution phase proved more challenging than the investigation. “There were instances in the initial stages of the trial where witnesses were threatened and even requested to turn hostile, but we managed to keep them safe and on the side of the prosecution,” Prabhudessai said.
The pandemic further complicated the trial by disrupting communication between police, prosecution, and witnesses. In one notable instance, a key witness who relocated to New Zealand had to be traced and convinced to return to India. His testimony was ultimately heard via video conferencing from a sessions court in Bhopal. Another witness from Kerala, who returned to his hometown during the pandemic, was located only after court notices were posted at his residence.
“The difficult part was to keep the witnesses together and testify as per the statements to police,” Prabhudessai said. During the trial, which saw testimonies from 46 witnesses, defence advocate Arun Bras de Sa argued for leniency, citing that the evidence was circumstantial.
Public prosecutor Devendra Korgaonkar pressed for maximum punishment, emphasising the heinous nature of the crime.
The victim’s family, in a statement reported by Daily Mail, said that “justice has finally been achieved”. They said “there was no other suspect or gang involved” and that Bhagat was “solely responsible for cruelly ending her beautiful life”.
Initially after his arrest, Bhagat confessed to the crime but later retracted his statement through a 29-page letter, claiming the involvement of three others. However, police investigation ruled out the involvement of other suspects.
Before the crime, the victim had celebrated Holi at Green Park Resort on Palolem beach with an Australian friend along with whom she had travelled to India.
CCTV footage captured her walking with Bhagat, whom she knew from previous visits to India, in the hours before her death.