PANJIM: Bowing to the demands from activists and society, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Thursday announced that the investigation of the death of Fr Bismarque Dias would be conducted by Crime Branch (CB). CB will start investigations all over again and coves all angles.
Addressing media persons, Parsekar said directions have been given to the police to transfer the case to CB. “There has been demand from various sections right from family members of Fr Bismarque to the media, that the case be handed over to CB. As such I have decided today to transfer the case from police to CB,” he said.
“Also, two days back, a vest with blood stains was found at the site and there are possibilities that it may belong to Father. Hence we need to investigate that also,” the Chief Minister added.
The Chief Minister assured to depute a person to get the viscera report at the earliest. Goa police are relying on the chemical analysis report to decide whether or not to investigate case as murder or close the investigation as an unnatural death.
Parsekar, who also holds Home Portfolio, said that directions were issued to police soon after Fr Bismarque’s body was fished out from the St Estevam bandh, to investigate into aspects of foul play as he was a leading social activist. “I had told police that there could be a possibility of foul play and the same needs to be investigated too. Accordingly, they submitted the report on the case,” he said.
CB SP Kartik Kashyap, when contacted by Herald said they have taken over all the case papers from Old Goa police station. “We will begin the investigation all over again. All possible angles leading to his death will be probed,” he said. CB has appointed PI Virendra Veluskar as the investigating officer.
The CM’s announcement came minutes after Fr Birmarque’s family, assisted by advocate Nigel Da Costa Frias, handed over a petition to the former pointing out various loopholes in the investigation of the Old Goa police.
