Nearly two weeks after an activist-priest died by drowning on the night of November 5, the Goa government has decided to hand over the case to the crime branch, following sustained pressure from citizen groups.
Over the past fortnight, police were treating the death of Father Bismarque Dias as unnatural but accidental, though an investigation was underway. His family had refused to bury his body unless a proper inquiry was carried out and foul play ruled out, given that the priest was a vocal environmental campaigner, who had received several threats to his life.
Announcing his decision to transfer the case to the Goa crime branch, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Thursday said it was to ensure no scope was left for doubt and to clear the air over the many accusations that had surfaced over the past two weeks. Social media users in the state had gone ballistic over the death, with many accusing the police of failing to take the issue seriously or thoroughly investigating the possibility of a homicide.
Demand for a probe
Initial investigations based on witness accounts, had revealed that the priest was in the company of two young boys, one a minor, on the evening and night of his death on November 5. He had ventured into the water around midnight, near a sluice gate at the village creek of St Estevam, 15 km from Panjim, after a spell of alleged beer drinking. His body surfaced a day later, some distance away.
“We are merely saying that a proper investigation be carried out, as per the law, to rule out foul play," said activist Sabina Martins, one of the many who sought a thorough inquiry. "In such cases, investigation is based on circumstantial evidence. The police were saying it was accidental and looking at it from only one angle."
She said death threats were part of life for the activist priest. He had filed two police complaints about threats he received, one as recently as two days before this death, Martins said. As President of the St Estevam comunidade body, which administers land in the village area, he had filed complaints before the National Green Tribunal, and was an active protector of eco zones, that pitted him against builders and real estate interests, she said.
“We have an open mind. We are only saying that given this angle, there has to be a proper investigation,” Martins said.
Divided opinion
Several other groupings have been even more vociferous about their allegations. Aside from taking up issues in his village, Fr Bismarque lent his support to other causes. He formed a group of musicians to create awareness about several land-intensive projects, including a sprawling golf course project at Tiracol, a controversial green field airport, and an electronic city, that are seen by locals as scarcely disguised real-estate projects that will involve evicting tenants, residents and farmers.
The emotional vortex created around the priest's death has divided opinion, with two local English newspapers competing with each other in their coverage of the case. The Goan suggested it was an accidental death following a beer drinking night out on the riverside and a late night swim when a tidal creek resulted in accidental drowning, despite the priest being a good swimmer. Its editorial called for a sober handling of the case, to avoid any miscarriage of justice and false accusations against the priest's young companions that night.
The Herald, on the other hand, suggested the opposite, sensationalising the late finding of an allegedly blood stained vest this week by activists, who are now independently combing the area for clues.
The police, meanwhile, are hamstrung by the long queues for reports at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Hyderabad, but have requested urgency, given the nature of the case. “The investigation is still in progress given this situation," said Umesh Gaonkar, Superintendent of Police, North Goa, and designated officer for the case. "We have not yet decided on the cause of death.”
Damage control
The government is clearly worried about the more than a dozen candle light vigils, that have reignited the resolve of citizen's groups across parts of the state to oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party government's fast-tracking of projects that villagers see as benefiting corporations but impinging on their lives. As more villages joined the Justice for Bismarque campaign, with its focus on the government's land agenda, a worried administration is clearly hoping to stem the tide by transferring the case to the crime branch.
Meanwhile, media outlets close to the BJP, have sought to shift the focus from the government to Fr Bismarque's own troubled relationship with the Church and the religious order he formerly belonged to. The priest was a known critic of a land sale of Church property on a scenic island in central Goa, and in 2012 contested assembly elections as an independent, running a unique campaign on a bicycle. The communication wing of the Goa Diocese has clarified that “since June 2010, Fr. Bismarque, of his own accord, had left the exercise of his priesthood and dedicated himself to various social causes affecting Goa.”
“We pray that all concerned may adhere to the truth in this unfortunate tragedy and seek eternal repose for the deceased,” the statement by the Diocesan Centre for Social Communication said.
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Over the past fortnight, police were treating the death of Father Bismarque Dias as unnatural but accidental, though an investigation was underway. His family had refused to bury his body unless a proper inquiry was carried out and foul play ruled out, given that the priest was a vocal environmental campaigner, who had received several threats to his life.
Announcing his decision to transfer the case to the Goa crime branch, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Thursday said it was to ensure no scope was left for doubt and to clear the air over the many accusations that had surfaced over the past two weeks. Social media users in the state had gone ballistic over the death, with many accusing the police of failing to take the issue seriously or thoroughly investigating the possibility of a homicide.
Demand for a probe
Initial investigations based on witness accounts, had revealed that the priest was in the company of two young boys, one a minor, on the evening and night of his death on November 5. He had ventured into the water around midnight, near a sluice gate at the village creek of St Estevam, 15 km from Panjim, after a spell of alleged beer drinking. His body surfaced a day later, some distance away.
“We are merely saying that a proper investigation be carried out, as per the law, to rule out foul play," said activist Sabina Martins, one of the many who sought a thorough inquiry. "In such cases, investigation is based on circumstantial evidence. The police were saying it was accidental and looking at it from only one angle."
She said death threats were part of life for the activist priest. He had filed two police complaints about threats he received, one as recently as two days before this death, Martins said. As President of the St Estevam comunidade body, which administers land in the village area, he had filed complaints before the National Green Tribunal, and was an active protector of eco zones, that pitted him against builders and real estate interests, she said.
“We have an open mind. We are only saying that given this angle, there has to be a proper investigation,” Martins said.
Divided opinion
Several other groupings have been even more vociferous about their allegations. Aside from taking up issues in his village, Fr Bismarque lent his support to other causes. He formed a group of musicians to create awareness about several land-intensive projects, including a sprawling golf course project at Tiracol, a controversial green field airport, and an electronic city, that are seen by locals as scarcely disguised real-estate projects that will involve evicting tenants, residents and farmers.
The emotional vortex created around the priest's death has divided opinion, with two local English newspapers competing with each other in their coverage of the case. The Goan suggested it was an accidental death following a beer drinking night out on the riverside and a late night swim when a tidal creek resulted in accidental drowning, despite the priest being a good swimmer. Its editorial called for a sober handling of the case, to avoid any miscarriage of justice and false accusations against the priest's young companions that night.
The Herald, on the other hand, suggested the opposite, sensationalising the late finding of an allegedly blood stained vest this week by activists, who are now independently combing the area for clues.
The police, meanwhile, are hamstrung by the long queues for reports at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Hyderabad, but have requested urgency, given the nature of the case. “The investigation is still in progress given this situation," said Umesh Gaonkar, Superintendent of Police, North Goa, and designated officer for the case. "We have not yet decided on the cause of death.”
Damage control
The government is clearly worried about the more than a dozen candle light vigils, that have reignited the resolve of citizen's groups across parts of the state to oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party government's fast-tracking of projects that villagers see as benefiting corporations but impinging on their lives. As more villages joined the Justice for Bismarque campaign, with its focus on the government's land agenda, a worried administration is clearly hoping to stem the tide by transferring the case to the crime branch.
Meanwhile, media outlets close to the BJP, have sought to shift the focus from the government to Fr Bismarque's own troubled relationship with the Church and the religious order he formerly belonged to. The priest was a known critic of a land sale of Church property on a scenic island in central Goa, and in 2012 contested assembly elections as an independent, running a unique campaign on a bicycle. The communication wing of the Goa Diocese has clarified that “since June 2010, Fr. Bismarque, of his own accord, had left the exercise of his priesthood and dedicated himself to various social causes affecting Goa.”
“We pray that all concerned may adhere to the truth in this unfortunate tragedy and seek eternal repose for the deceased,” the statement by the Diocesan Centre for Social Communication said.