MARGAO
While the attack on the CID personnel by a mob near the Church premises hogged the limelight over the last five years, a host of questions still remain unanswered till date on the exact motive behind the flying squad/IT raid on the Velim Church in general and then Parish Priest Fr Romano Gonsalves in particular.
That none of the authorities, including the Election Commission, tried to find out how the flying squad/IT officials landed in the Church premises on the evening of February 6, 2012, when campaigning for the Assembly election had just begun, has left many a question unanswered till date.
Then Parish Priest, Fr Romano Gonsalves, could clearly recall how the officials, IT or flying squad, came to the Church premises at around 5.15 pm on February 6. “For two hours, the officials were inside my room. They opened my cupboard and later all the suitcases in my room,” Fr Gonsalves recalled.
For two long hours, Fr Romano was subjected to intensive interrogations, with the officials asking him to disclose money in his possession. “They asked me several questions. They wanted to know the money I have with me and the income of the Church and how it utilizes the money; whether the Church has a PAN number and the modus of payment for school teachers,” Fr Romano recalled.
Fr Romano still finds hard to believe why the flying squad/IT officials raided the Church premises during the election campaign. “I had only explained to the parishioners the guidelines issued by the Church on voting during the election, spreading the message of the Archbishop that people should not vote for money, but vote according to their conscience. That’s all I had explained during the sermons,” he emphasized.
The flying squad/IT raid came as a trigger for the angry villagers as they later gave vent to their anger on the three CID personnel. “It’s really sad that while the police machinery and the administration slapped cases against me, Fr Lucio Dias and 20 other villagers in the violence against the CID personnel, no one bothered to find out till date what was the brief of the flying squad/IT officials in the Velim Church on February 6, 2012,” Fr Romano rued.
Fr Romano and the remaining accused had been doing the rounds of the courts, with the government’s promise to withdraw the case coming a cropper. To add insult to injury, the government has now challenged the court decision to drop the attempt to murder charges slapped on Fr Romano and the other accused.
