Panaji, (Panjim)  Friends of priest-turned-activist Fr Bismarque Dias, who was found dead in 2015, have demanded a proper investigation into the case by the Goa crime branch, including interrogation of the five witnesses. The priest stood up to many anti-social elements and other vested interests who wanted to ruin the ecology of Goa

Fr Dias, who went missing on November 6 2015 was found dead near the sluice gate of Mandovi river at St Estevam village in North Goa the next day.

The death of Fr Dias is being probed by the crime branch after his family and friends suspected foul play.

The family also refused to take possession of the body till the mystery surrounding the death of Dias is unravelled by the investigators.

Investigating officers had claimed that Dias had died ‘due to drowning’ and had ruled out any foul play.

Recently, the Goa bench of Bombay high court while hearing a joint petition filed by Dias’s family and friends, asked the crime branch to file an FIR in the case.

“The five key witnesses who had seen Fr Dias at a location different from the one mentioned by two boys who were with him, needs to be properly examined for the truth to come out,” deceased’s friends – Sudeep Dalvi, Kennedy Afonso and Samir Kelekar — who were the petitioners, told reporters here today.

They claimed that in a video released by Fr Dias few days prior to his death, he spoke about threat to his life.

“All the people mentioned as a threat to his life in the video that he made prior to his death, which include members of St Estevam gram panchayat and certain builders and representatives of mega construction companies, must be thoroughly interrogated,” they demanded.

Afonso claimed that “grievous injuries on Dias’s forehead and neck during the first panchanama conducted on November 7, 2015 do not reflect in the two subsequent postmortem reports.

  Catholic Church, crime, Goa