MARGAO: Against the backdrop of two parish priests being accused in the Velim church-raid case, parish priest of St Francis Xavier Church Fr George Fernandes held a prayer service and candlelight march, which culminated in a signature campaign for the charges to be dropped.
A letter with the signatures will be submitted to Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar demanding the immediate withdrawal of the chargesheet. The letter will be forwarded through the local MLA.
“This was a peaceful candlelight march after the mass, and through this signature campaign we are appealing to the government to put this matter to rest,” said Fr George. In his homily, he summarized the pain being experienced in the village and urged the village to be united and pray for the 22 accused persons and peace of the village.
After the mass, the candlelight vigil went around the church and back. The events leading up to the incident and the incident remain etched in the memories of bystanders, who recalled how the church bells rang during the last speech at the public meeting that took place nearby.
Questions about how only 22 were singled out from 1,500 unknown persons has perplexed most of them, and they wonder why the police took three years to file the chargesheet if the charges were really serious.
While there is hope that the case will be dropped in view of the Balli case that was ultimately withdrawn, the citizens of Velim constituency have condemned the police’s actions, which has tarnished the constituency’s image.
“Three persons identified to be from Goa Police deliberately visited the priest at a late night hour on February 25, 2012 and aggravated the volatile situation persisting in the village due to the earlier raid on February 7, 2012,” read the letter. “The police are now trying to falsely implicate these 22 persons, most of whom were members of church committees. The police have also tried to play with careers of the individuals by denying them PCC on several occasions,” added a citizen.
“We strongly condemn the act of police machinery for disturbing the peace of the village and branding us as criminals. We want to live in peace, but unfortunately, the police force, which is supposed to guide us in peaceful living, acted as ‘instigators’ and ‘political agents’ that time, targeting innocent citizens,” read the letter, while reiterating the demand for dropping the charges immediately.
At the meeting, many women said it was time the clouds of doubt hanging over Velim were lifted immediately. Rumours are galore that the accused will be summoned in the last week of August.
The villagers recalled their numerous visits to the government to get the charges dropped as it was affecting the lives and careers of those involved, be it the youth, the named church committee or Fabrica committee members or the priests. People spoke about how the former parish priest Romanov Gonsalves had tried to persuade the government to drop the case and was only met with false assurances in light of present circumstances.
