Family of murdered Danielle McLaughlin plead for fast track of trial

The Irish Government has been asked to make a presence felt in India, where the trial of the man accused of the 2017 murder of Buncrana woman Danielle McLaughlin remains beset by delays.

The 28-year-old was found dead in a secluded area of the Canacona resort on March 14, 2017.

Vikat Bhagat has been charged with rape and murder, but his trial has been held only intermittently.

Bhagat has been in custody since 2017, but Indian police recently failed to produce him at court for a seventh successive time. Sources in India have said that this is due to staffing shortages with police escort staff.

Bhagat last appeared before the Sessions Court of Margao in South Goa on February 27 and is scheduled again to be before the court on May 19. On one occasion, police said they were unable to locate Bhagat in prison.

“How does this happen?,” Ms Danielle’s mother, Andrea Brannigan, told RTE.

“How many years are we chatting before this is all over. Am I even going to see the end of this?  I would like it to be fast tracked.”

The trial is due to hear from a total of 58 witnesses, but only 15 have fully given evidence to date.

Ms Brannigan has continually asked for a video link in order to watch court proceedings, but has repeatedly been declined.

She said:  “We have been told they have no way of doing it, but they have ways of doing it for him (Bhagat). All I want is to see what’s going on in the courthouse.”

Six years after her daughter’s tragic death, Ms Brannigan regularly messages Danielle’s phone.

“It’s my way of keeping in contact,” she said.

Bhagat has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, murder, violent robbery and destruction of evidence.

Danielle’s family have become increasingly frustrated at the lack of haste in court proceedings.

“It is so surreal to believe that we are still waiting on a result and we’re no further forward,” Danielle’s sister Jolene said.

“We don’t know when it’s going to end or how it’s going to end. It’s so hard that we can’t get over it and we don’t have our justice for Danielle. We don’t say ‘justice’ too much because we won’t get true justice. Danielle won’t be a mother and she can never live her life.

“We would rather that the whole world knows the truth of what happened to her and know who she is.”

Jolene said the family would like the Irish Government to ‘make its presence known’ in Goa.

Buncrana-based Sinn Féin TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has branded the delays as ‘outrageous and unbearable’.

“We need the Irish Government to be there and present,” he said. “Some of the stuff that has been going on is outrageous. It is disrespectful in the strongest possible way. The Irish government must do more to stand up for them.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said that ensuring a quick conclusion to the trial is a ‘significant priority’ for the Government. The Department said that concerns over the pace of the trial have been raised with the relevant local authorities.

“I am never confident anymore because we have been misled in the past,” Danielle’s mother said.

“Now, we just wait and see and we hope that things will change.”