British-Irish woman’s rape-murder in Goa: Behind the conviction that earned investigators a ‘thank you’ from victim’s mother

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After the sessions court in Goa last week held local resident Vikat Bhagat guilty for the rape and murder of a British-Irish backpacker, who was found dead near a beach in 2017, the victim’s mother broke down and approached the investigating officer in the case to thank him.

Behind the conviction is an investigation that relied on forensic and medical evidence, and the “last seen theory” to establish a chain of circumstances linking the accused to the crime.

In the order, Kshama Joshi, Additional Sessions Judge, South Goa, Margao, said, “The evidence on record clearly pinpoints only the accused in the matter and as such, the last seen theory stands proved by the prosecution beyond doubt.”

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The court said several witnesses deposed that the victim and the accused were together on March 13 on his scooter. The witnesses deposed that they visited bars and restaurants and “were last seen together till up to 9.15 pm”.

“The time gap between the last seen and the death of the deceased is about 8 to 9 hours. It need not be that the time gap in every case has to be small and it depends upon the circumstances of the case,” the court said.

“That the articles such as glass pieces, which were having blood stains, were in the bag recovered at the instance of the accused and some of the glass pieces were found at the scene of offence…,” the court said, adding that there is “no explanation as to how the black bag of the victim came in possession of the accused.”

“It appears that the accused must have removed her clothes and hurriedly put the clothes and other articles… in the bag and (he) took the bag after the incident and concealed it…,” the court said.

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It said that “the broken spectacles also show the resistance by the victim”.

“The waist belt worn by the victim and identified by witnesses was recovered at the instance of the accused. There is no explanation as to how the accused came in possession of the clothes of the victim,” it said.

The court said it is evident that “there was forcible sexual intercourse with the victim.”

“The injuries also show that there was resistance by the victim and hence the argument that there was consensual sexual intercourse cannot be accepted,” it said. “It is the defence of the accused that the accused and the victim were friendly with each other and as such there can be no motive for the accused to commit the offence as he was supposed to get married to the victim and that there was consensual sexual intercourse. If that was so, then how the injuries have come on the deceased and… there is no explanation with regard to the injuries sustained by the accused.”

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