Waiting for Justice….
“Everyone is innocent until proven otherwise, we are rightly concerned that the person accused of Danielle’s murder, who has rightly been kept in custody since his arrest, is all of a sudden going to be released on bail, and that he will flee from justice. For me and many whose near and dear ones died mysteriously while in India, it’s very difficult to understand the nature of legal proceedings, it’s more than four years we are waiting for justice in the case, it’s a living death for me each and every day”
Andrea Brannigan
Mother of Danielle McLaughlin
Goemkarponn desk
CANANCONA:The mother of Danielle McLaughlin, who was found dead at an isolated spot in Canacona has been left devastated after the accused killer recently applied for bail citing Covid-19 delays in the case.
Speaking to Goemkarponn, from Ireland, Andrea Brannigan the mother of Danielle said that the nightmare which started the day she was told that her daughter was dead, will not be over till the accused who is since been behind the bars, is convicted.
She says the news of the accused applying for bail citing delays due to Covid-19 pandemic, has devastated her and her family’s hopes of an end to the case which is lingering since last four years.
It may be recalled that Danielle McLaughlin, from Buncrana in County Donegal, Ireland was found dead in a secluded spot at Devabagh in Canacona, the Goa’s southern most popular tourist destination in the morning of 14th March 2017.
Acting swiftly the local police arrested Vikat Bhagat within 24 hours for allegedly murdering the Irish woman and since then Vikat is lodged in a jail pending trial.
Police informed that Vikat and Danielle were friends and had attended the Holi festival party hosted at a popular joint at Palolem the previous day.
Later the postmortem examination found that she was sexually assaulted and murdered.
McLaughlin’s mother, Andrea Brannigan, has told Goemkarponn that she is “terrified” thinking that the suspect will be free as he has applied for bail.
“It’s been four years now I am waiting for justice and the news of the accused applying for bail has added more insult to injury”, Andrea said.
“This is an appalling development in my family’s longstanding search for justice for Danielle”, said Andrea.
“Everyone is innocent until proven otherwise, we are rightly concerned that the person accused of Danielle’s murder, who has rightly been kept in custody since his arrest, is all of a sudden going to be released on bail, and that he will flee from justice. For me and many whose near and dear ones died mysteriously while in India it’s very difficult to understand the nature of legal proceedings, it’s more than four years we are waiting for justice in the case, it’s a living death for me each and every day”, lamented Andrea.
“We will do our best to follow events closely and hope that the court does the right thing and deny the defendant’s application for bail, and that the path towards justice is not affected in any ways.”
Now that the accused has moved for bail, it has brought all the horrific memories of what happened to my daughter back to the surface”, Andrea said.
“The thought of the court might set him free on bail has terrified me, it’s been more than four years since I lost my beautiful daughter and it’s as painful today as it ever has been and to wait this long for justice has just been truly awful for us and we cannot get closure until justice is done and I am really frightened that if the suspect is released and then flees from justice that our nightmare will go on and on forever”, she said.
She said the accused, Vikat Bhagat, has now applied to be released on bail, citing a “bleak” likelihood of a trial taking place in the near future due to the “prevailing pandemic condition” she informed.
Meanwhile Kim Hamilton who is associated with the people who are fighting for a fair and quick trial in Danniele has started an online signature campaign which will be submitted to minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad, to help to deny Vikat’s appeal to be released on bail, informed Andrea.
