Irish woman was raped, then killed with a beer bottle, claim Goa cops

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March 16, 2017

Margao, Mar 16: The Canacona police arrested a 23-year-old man with a criminal past on Wednesday on charges of murdering a 28-year-old Irish woman, Danielle McLaughlin.

rapist

McLaughlin's naked body was found at an isolated spot in Deubaug, south Goa, on Tuesday morning. Police named the arrested man as Vikat Bhagat, a resident of Bhagatwada, Char Rasta, Canacona. They said they were also interrogating three others to check if they were involved in the crime, reminiscent of the 2008 rape and murder of 15-year-old Briton Scarlett Keeling. Her killers were never punished.

Bhagat, police sources said, has a criminal record. He and three other locals were seen with the woman at a shack at Colomb, not too far from where her body was found.

Police sources claimed Bhagat had admitted he had raped the Irishwoman after taking her to the isolated spot late on Monday night. He then killed her using a broken beer bottle to prevent her from revealing his identity. Her body was found the next day, with injuries to her head and face. "Seven injury marks were observed on different parts of her body, including head and face, suggesting a scuffle," DSP Sammy Tavares, supervising the investigations, told TOI. Police are awaiting the post-mortem report, which will be conducted by doctors at the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, before charging Bhagat with rape. Police have requested GMC to preserve her nail clippings and other forensic material for DNA profiling.

SP (north) Karthik Kashyap, who also holds charge as SP (south), said the accused had confessed to the crime. Sources said the shack where McLaughlin was last seen is very popular with foreign and domestic tourists. On Monday, Holi celebrations were organised at the place and McLaughlin and her friends were among those who attended. Bhagat was arrested on the basis of CCTV footage that revealed that he and three of his friends were also seen with her at the shack.

Sources said the murdered woman had visited Goa last year as well and she may have befriended some locals then. She had known Bhagat since her last visit, sources said. This year, she had been staying at Arambol, north Goa, since February 23.

Police sources said she came down to Canacona on March 12 and stayed at a friend's place in Agonda. On Monday, she proceeded to Palolem at around 1pm. Thereafter, she was seen with the accused at a shack in Overem, Palolem, till around 9.30pm, as revealed by CCTV footage.

The clothes which the deceased had been wearing were found packed in a bag near Bhagat's house, police sources informed. The scooter belonging to the accused has also been attached, as also the British passport belonging to the deceased (she held dual nationality). The Irish embassy and the British high commission are in touch with authorities here. Reports said McLaughlin had left Ireland in February to go "backpacking around the world". She spent her childhood in Buncrana, attending the local Scoil Mhuire secondary school, and later studied at a university in Liverpool.

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News Network
May 5,2024

Karwar, May 5: What commenced as a mere exchange of words between spouses swiftly transmuted into a calamitous ordeal, resulting in the heartbreaking loss of their innocent offspring. The heart-wrenching incident unfolded in the serene confines of Halamaddy village in the picturesque expanse of Dandeli, nestled within the idyllic expanse of Uttara Kannada district.

In the throes of a fervent dispute with her spouse, the aggrieved wife, succumbing to an overwhelming surge of emotions, callously propelled their tender six-year-old progeny into the somber depths of a nearby canal, thereafter alerting the local populace to her grievous act.

Promptly apprised of the distressing occurrence by concerned bystanders, the authorities were swiftly summoned to the scene to confront the harrowing aftermath.

Responding to the distress call, the diligent officers of Dandeli rural police swiftly converged upon the site where the innocent child had been cast into the unforgiving waters of the canal, subsequently effecting the retrieval of the child's lifeless form. 

Regrettably, it was discerned that a portion of the child's remains had been tragically claimed by the lurking jaws of a predatory crocodile.

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News Network
May 8,2024

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Mangaluru: Congress leader and five-time Belthangady MLA K Vasanth Bangera, passed away on Wednesday, at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Wednesday. He was 79.

His health condition had worsened recently, and he was shifted to Bengaluru for treatment. His body is likely to be brought to Belthangady on May 9 and will be kept for public homage, family sources said.

He has the credit of contesting from all three parties - BJP, Janata Dal and Congress. Since 1983, he had contested nine assembly elections and won five times.

Bangera had entered the Legislative Assembly by winning Belthangady constituency as a BJP candidate in 1983 against Gangadhar Gowda of the Congress.

He won had the elections again in 1985 and later joined the Janata Dal. However, he lost the election against Gangadhar Gowda of Congress in 1989.

He became an MLA once again for the third time in 1994. In the 1999 election, Bangera lost to his brother Prabhakar Bangera who contested from BJP.

In 2008, Bangera joined the Congress and won the elections for the fourth time. In 2013, he had once again won the elections against Ranjan Gowda of the BJP, but he also lost the elections to sitting MLA Harish Poonja of the BJP in 2018.

He was born to Kede Subba Poojary and Devaki. He is survived by his wife Sujitha V Bangera, and two daughters Preethitha and Binutha.
 

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News Network
May 12,2024

Mangaluru, May 12: In a shocking development, a group of pilgrims which had travelled from Mangaluru International Airport to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, to perform Umrah has alleged that 26,432 Saudi Riyals, which were kept in a bag, have been stolen. 

In a complaint submitted to the Bajpe Police, Soukath Banu, wife of Ahmed Iqbal of Ajyad Tours and Travels, said that her husband, Ahmed Iqbal, along with 35 members, planned and scheduled to perform the Umrah and were travelling from Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) via Mumbai to Jeddah. 

Soukath Banu had given Ahmed Iqbal 2,000 Saudi Riyals for performing Umrah and other expenses. The group members were also told to bring Saudi Riyals to meet their expenses.

In her plaint, Soukath stated that the group had left for Jeddah on an IndiGo flight via Mumbai, and their return ticket to India was booked for May 13. 

At the airport, she said that 26,432 Saudi Riyals were collected in total, and they decided to keep them in baggage that had a lock. Accordingly, it was kept in the bag of Mohammad Badruddin Kadambar. The airport staff had even questioned what he had kept in the bag. 

The group reached Jeddah on May 1. To their surprise, Kadambar found that the baggage lock was broken open, the zip was damaged, and cash was stolen upon reaching Jeddah.

DCP (Law and Order) Sidharth Goyal said that following the complaint, one round of CCTV checks was conducted at the MIA along with the CISF personnel. The loading at the MIA was intact.

Further checks have to be carried out at Mumbai and Jeddah Airport as the victim found out that cash was missing only when they got the bag at the final destination, he added.

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