The mother of murdered Buncrana woman Danielle McLaughlin has said she has “no faith” in the Indian justice system.
Andrea Brannigan was speaking after yet another delay in the trial of a 24-year-old suspect Vikat Bhagat.
In March 2017, Ms McLaughlin’s body was found by a farmer in a field in a remote location in Goa, which is popular with tourists.
The 28-year-old from Buncrana had been raped and murdered. She had been backpacking in the area and had planned to learn and teach yoga.
He was charged with sexual assault and murder and criminal proceedings against him got under way within months, only to be beset by delays that have lasted seven-and-a-half years.
A decision was made by the High Court of Bombay that the trial must be concluded on or before October 17 and that a verdict must also be delivered by then.
Ms Brannigan said she was “delighted” and immediately began arranging visas to travel with one of her other daughters to attend the scheduled end of the trial next week.
However, she has been told that Mr Bhagat’s lawyers have secured a four-month extension, with his trial now due to conclude in February.
But Ms Brannigan said she no longer knows if she can trust the Indian system, given this sudden change in relation to the date of the trial’s conclusion.
“I’m really upset about it,” she told the Sunday Independent. “You are told a date and then it’s taken away.
“We are down to the last witness for the prosecution. But we don’t know how many witnesses the defence have.
“The new date for the end of the trial is now February. But I definitely have concerns it won’t end by then.
“The trial is only running twice a week at the moment. That’s just not good enough and wrong for a murder trial.
“They are now saying February, but it could be before then. But as far as I’m concerned, the way things have gone, it could be longer.
“I don’t have faith in the Indian justice system any more.”
