Team Herald
MARGAO: The summons for the 22 accused in the Velim church raid incident has still not been served. The charges against them will be framed on August 24, and sources stated that the matter is likely to be shifted to the District and Sessions Court due to the severity of the offences registered against the accused.
While the 22 accused, including two priests, are prepared to appear before any court, Velim locals have warned that there will be a voluntary ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ if action is initiated against any of the accused.
There have been several requests, memorandums and signature campaigns demanding that the case be dropped. Velim MLA Benjamin Silva has also been following up the issue at the government level. He mentioned that there was no shortcut to getting the case dropped, but he was trying his best.
“The case can only be quashed after the charges are framed. According to procedure, we have to wait for the framing and then ask for the quashing,” said Silva.
Several of the accused have also tried to get the case dropped.
The then Assolna parish priest and current South Goa Episcopal Vicar Fr Lucio Dias recently conveyed to Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza that the matter should be closed as soon as possible.
