TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: A sword of Damocles continues to hang over villagers of Velim in the infamous February 2012 CID personnel assault case with neither the investigations taking off till date nor has the government closed the attempt to murder case against former Parish Parish Priest Fr Romano Gonsalves and 1,500 villagers.
It will be two years on February 25 when the Goa police registered an attempt to murder case against the Parish Priest and others after the CID personnel earned the wrath of the villagers when they made their presence in the Church at late evening hours. The mob had directed their ire at the CID personnel as their presence in the Church came 18 days after income tax sleuths and election flying squad officials had raided the St Francis Xavier Church and searched the room of the Parish Priest in the run up to the 2012 Assembly polls.
Herald inquiries have revealed that petitions by Velim villagers, either through the gram sabha or through the local MLA Benjamin D’Silva, to the government in general and Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in particular to set up an investigating team to expedite the probe and cap the investigations has evoked no government response so far. The Cuncolim police in private agree that investigation has not moved an inch since the registration of the case two years ago.
When Herald contacted Margao sub-divisional police officer, DySP Mohan Naik, to throw light on the status of the case dragging on for the last two years, he merely said that investigation in the case is in progress. He, however, declined to go into questions over the police delay in capping the investigation or chargesheeting the matter in the court.
On November 24 last year the Velim gram sabha had resolved to petition the Chief Minister to set up an investigating team and close the attempt to murder case registered against Fr Romano and six other persons, including members of the Church Committee, besides 1,500 unidentified villagers.
The gram sabha had called for an investigating team to probe and close the case after thorough screening of the reasons and the motive behind the CID personnel arriving at the Church premises at 8.45 pm on that day when they could have come to the Church premises for the same purpose at 8.45 am without provoking and disturbing the peaceful residents of Velim.
“The February 25 incident had occurred under circumstances when the local community had intervened to safeguard the interests of the religious beliefs. First the IT officials raided the Church and these CID personnel came at odd hours at the holy premises days later to inquire about the elections”, remarked a gram sabha member.
Says Velim Sarpanch Melvyn Sanches: “The panchayat had immediately forwarded the gram sabha resolution to the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and the South Goa district Collector, besides local Velim MLA Benjamin D’Silva for necessary action. Since the panchayat has received no reply till date, we have despatched a reminder to the authorities to take an early call on the gram sabha resolution. We have also asked the Velim MLA to raise the issue in the Legislative Assembly as well”, he said.
Velim MLA Benjamin D’Silva, however, said he has drawn the attention of the Chief Minister to the sentiments of the Velim villagers. “Since the day I received a petition from the villagers soon after my election, I have been pursuing the matter with the Chief Minister”, he said, adding that the Chief Minister has given a positive response to the demands of the villagers, even as the MLA admitted that the sword continues to hang over the villagers for want of government action.
