Margao, Aug 31 (TOI): The additional sessions court, here on Wednesday directed the prosecution to provide a clone CCTV footage to accused Vikat Bhagat, who is accused of rape and murder of British national Danielle Maria Theresa McLaughlin.

He was arrested by the Canacona police on March 14 - a day after the body of the deceased was found by a farmer while passing through open fields. He was apprehended on the basis of CCTV footage in a shack where he had accompanied the victim before she was killed.

According to the chargesheet, the accused befriended the 28-year-old deceased and took her in an open isolated field between 10pm to 7am at Ape-Deubaug, where he allegedly raped and then assaulted her with glass bottle on her head and face, and subsequently committed murder by compressing her neck. He also robbed her mobile and destroyed evidence, mentions the chargesheet.

Canacona police had found seven injury marks on different parts of McLaughlin's body, including her head and face, which suggested a scuffle between the accused and the deceased. Bhagat, has been chargsheeted under Sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape), 394 (robbery) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the India Penal Code (IPC).

On July 24, Bhagat's advocate had moved an application praying to direct the prosecution to make the entire footage be made available so as to prepare his defence.

An application was moved by the public prosecutor Jerry Costa urging the court to conduct the trial on a daily basis. Judge Sayonara Telles Laad has posted the matter on September 8 to hear the arguments of the defence.