Indian Man Who Raped And Killed Irish Woman Imprisoned For Life

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - An Indian court sentenced a 31-year-old man to rape and murder of a young Irish woman in the tourist resort state of Goa, nearly eight years after the crime.

The victim, whose name cannot be disclosed under Indian law, was 28 years old when she visited Goa in March 2017 and befriended Vikat Bhagat, the man convicted of the crime.

"Today the court has given a final verdict, life imprisonment to the defendant," Filomeno Costa said to the ANI news agency.

His lawyer, Total Varma, said his body was found in a forest area on the coast of Palolem Goa, with many wounds, including several on his face.

"No one can compensate for the loss of a child, but the punishment has eased the family's sadness," Varma said in a statement to Reuters.

"It was a long battle of nearly eight years, but justice has been upheld," he added.

A forensic report confirmed the woman was raped and her face was crushed with a beer bottle to thwart an attempt to identify her, the lawyer said.

Bhagat's lawyers asked the court to take a soft stance in imposing penalties, media reports.

India tightened laws on rape and set up a special court for the fast path after the brutal rape of a young woman on a bus in Delhi in 2012 and her murder shocked the country.

But more than a decade later, the picture is still gloomy.

Last year's Reuters investigation showed India had cut the number of courts targeted to 790 by 2026, from the previously projected 2,600.

Last month, a court sentenced a police volunteer to life for the rape and murder of a junior doctor at a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata.