Why an activist-priest’s body in Goa has not been buried even four months after his death

Over four months after the death of an activist-priest under suspicious circumstances, the Goa police are moving to close the investigation, calling it a case of accidental drowning. The decision has elicited cries of disbelief from friends and family of Father Bismarque Dias, who have refused to claim and bury the body until there is a fair investigation.

Dias, 51, was found dead in Mandovi River, 15 kilometres from Panaji, on the intervening night of November 5-6 last year. Before he was reported missing, news reports allege, he had been out by the riverside, drinking beer in the company of two youngsters.

A little before his death, Dias had filed a case before the National Green Tribunal, an environmental court, against proposed constructions violating the rules on building in coastal zone. His environmental campaigns had included protests against several land-intensive projects in Goa, such as a golf course at Tiracol, a controversial greenfield airport and an electronic city.

This vocal activism had earned the former priest routine death threats, which is partly why his friends and family disbelieve the police’s claim that the death was accidental.

“From the word go, the investigation was botched up and evidence gathering was compromised,” complained Dr Samir Kelekar, a key member of the Justice for Bismarque committee that was formed to press for a thorough investigation.

Kelekar says a possible homicidal angle was discounted right from the investigation’s start. “To date, it is only registered as an unnatural death... They have not even filed an FIR [first information report]. There seems to be a conspiracy to not investigate this at a higher level.”

Ravenous realty market

Indeed, the case was handed over to the Crime Branch by the administration after it came under pressure. Candlelight vigils were organised following Dias’s death and a public rally was taken out (where participants were roughed up and arrested). Meanwhile, faced with official apathy, Dias’s family had appointed criminal lawyers and villagers pooled in resources to gather evidence.

As Goa hurtles, with overt government support, towards increased concretisation to feed a realty market, agitations have spiked across villages losing their farms and land. In this climate, the suspicious death of an activist could only ignite matters, a fact the government and sections of the media backing it are acutely aware of.

Earlier this month, Superintendent of Police (Crime) Kartik Kashyap was quoted as saying that his department had looked into each allegation, verified every name, recorded statements and quizzed 60 witnesses. After conducting two post mortems and studying viscera, DNA and diatom test reports, the crime branch concluded that the death was due to accidental drowning. The report has been sent to the sub-divisional magistrate for “finalisation”.

Dr Kelekar, however, says that many leads were inadequately explored and there are contradictions in the police’s claims. “We were not even informed that the investigation was closed”, he said. The Justice for Bismarque core committee has now written to the government, protesting the probe’s closure.

Prominent criminal lawyers Jos Peter de Souza and Caroline Collaco, in a report sent to the Justice for Bismarque committee, had listed several anomalies and mentioned many witnesses and leads that weren’t properly addressed or questioned. They suggested that Dias was forcibly drowned when he was not quite in his senses.

“It is obvious that the police just want the case out of their hands,” the report says. “It was clear that the initial investigation was done is such a haphazard manner that it was meant to ‘kill the case’ and see to it that the evidence which could have been made available was destroyed.” The administration has “close(d) the investigation in a manner most foul, riddled with half-truths and unkept promises”, the report adds.