PANJIM: While the entire investigation machinery is geared towards “burying” the fateful vest along with the vest theory which strongly points towards foul play in Father Bismarque’s death, the family of Father Bismarque, through their lawyers, have asked the Crime Branch why the missing vest angle has not been probed.
In a letter written to the Superintendant of Police, Crime Branch, which is investigating the case on December 16, Adv Jos Peter D’Souza and Adv Caroline Colasso, representing the family of Father Bismarque have asked what happened to the banyan vest worn by Father Bismarque on 5/11/2015. Crucially, the family lawyers have decided to put the focus back on the vest which the deceased Father wore on the day and night of his death rather than the stained one found on 17/11/2015 which was sent for a DNA test to the Forensic laboratory in Hyderabad.
The letter states that while police officers have stated that there was a possibility that he did not wear a vest, this has been ruled out by the statement of the two boys who were with him (Darren and the minor boy). “Both have categorically stated that late Father Bismarque removed a white vest and placed it along with the other clothes in the hut on the manos. Hence the argument that he did not wear a vest flies in the face of this evidence”, the letter mentions.
Significantly, the duo who actually picked up Father Bismarque’s clothes and belongings from the manos on 6/11/15, Asst Parish Priest, Father Dominic and local youth Ansel have said that the only clothes to be found at the spot and handed over to the police was a yellow T-shirt, half pant and boxer shorts along, with the following belongings – rubber chappals, his motorcycle key, pepper spray and the mobile which was recovered from the manshecar (sluice gate operator).
It is also important to note here, that the clothes were carried by Ansel to Father Bismarque’s house. They were then picked up by a family member and placed on the bracket of a cycle. The Old Goa Police came and collected the clothes from his house, but the spot of the attachment of clothes was shown as the manos. Importantly the manos, the last spot where Father was seen alive was never sealed.
The letter from the lawyers to the Crime Branch then goes on to state that the vest was picked up on the night of November 5/6 either by one of the two boys or a third person. If the two boys are not the suspects to have lifted the vest, then there was a third person who did so. “It is in this direction that the investigation should proceed i.e. to determine who could have picked up the vest. This will give us a clear indication as to who was behind the death of the Fr Bismarque Dias,” the letter to the SP Crime Branch mentioned.
While the investigations done by the lawyers do not quite specify why those trying to do away with Father Bismarque would remove a piece of his clothing, it concludes that the vest was removed by someone who knew that Father Bismarque would not be around to see his vest missing. “This itself is sufficient to conclude that the death of Father Bismarque was homicidal”, the advocates’ letter concludes.
