PANAJI: An 'order' issued by the Sub-divisional Magistrate has certified the death of José Bismarque Desiderio Dias as due to ‘asphyxia as a result of drowning in water’ and has classified it as an ‘accidental’ death.
The ‘order’ issued by Gaurish Sankhwalkar on April 21 states that he is “satisfied with the report filed by the Police Inspector of the Crime Branch, which has been recommended by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch and relying on the post mortem report filed by a team of doctors including Siddharth Banaulikar, Dr Shrikant Chimbolkar, Dr André Fernandes and Dr E J Rodrigues, as well as other reports.
Bismarque Dias passed away under mysterious circumstances in early November with family friends and relatives refusing to believe that the death is accidental.
The report came to light after a delegation of citizens following up on the investigations in the death of Fr Bismarque called on the SDM Gaurish Sankhwalkar to inquire about the progress of the case.
The report records the death of Bismarque Dias as having taken place on November 7 at 9:10 pm. Bismarque went missing on the night of November 5 and his body was found on November 7.
Fellow activists however continue to believe that there are several lacunae in the case and unanswered questions which are yet to be solved by the authorities.The mortal remains of Bismarque continue to lie in a morgue at the Goa Medical College with no funeral being held till date.
