The former chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Goa, Subhash Velingkar, is absconding after the police registered a first information report against him on Friday for demanding a DNA analysis of Francis Xavier’s relics, reported The Indian Express quoting unidentified sources.
Velingkar, who was expelled from the Sangh in 2016, recently called for a “DNA test to verify the identity of the remains believed to be those of Saint Francis Xavier”. He also reiterated his claim, first made in 2022, that Xavier should not be referred to as “Goencho saib”, or Protector of Goa.
Xavier was a Spanish Jesuit missionary who arrived in Goa in 1542, when the state was a Portuguese colony. He died in 1552 near Guangdong, China. Revered as the patron saint of Goa, his relics are kept in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa.
Velingkar has been at the forefront of a Hindutva campaign to replace Xavier’s prime position in the state with that of Parshuram, a warrior-sage from Hindu mythology.
The FIR against Velingkar was filed on Thursday at North Goa’s Bicholim police station on a complaint by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Cruz Silva.
Velingkar was booked for a “maligning speech against Saint Francis Xavier outraging the religious feelings and insulting religious beliefs of complainant, entire class of his religion and others”, under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Several other politicians also filed police complaints against Velingkar’s comments, which came ahead of the decennial exposition of Xavier’s relics to be held between November and January.
“The time has come to do a DNA test on Velingkar,” former Chief Minister Churchill Alemao said. “People of all faiths – Hindus, Muslims and Christians – have been living peacefully in Goa, but people like him are out to destroy the age-old communal harmony. The sentiments of all the people who venerate Saint Francis Xavier are hurt when such remarks are made. I have filed a complaint at Colva police station.”
Calls for Velingkar’s arrest began on Friday, with over 300 people including leaders from Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, gathering outside the Margao police station to voice their demand. On Saturday, protesters blocked roads in Margao, Anjuna and Old Goa.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant urged the public to maintain peace and refrain from blocking roads. “Whatever action was taken [in the case] against Father Bolmax [Pereira], similar action will be applied for Velingkar,” he said.
Pereira, the parish priest of the Saint Francis Xavier Church in Chicalim, South Goa, was booked last year for making allegedly derogatory remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during a sermon.
“Francis Xavier is a saint revered by people from all religions,” said Delilah Lobo, a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Siolim. “People like Velingkar make such stupid statements just to come in the limelight. They want to create a rift between religions.”
Velingkar, on the other hand, also filed a police complaint on Thursday accusing “certain activist groups” of spreading “false narratives and attempting to disrupt communal harmony”.
“I have recently made a statement regarding the Goa Inquisition, an unfortunate chapter in the history of Goa, which took place during the period of Portuguese rule,” Velingkar said in his complaint. “While history speaks of Saint Francis Xavier’s contributions to the spread of Christianity, it is important to understand that the Goa Inquisition created a reign of terror for many non-Christians.”
The Goa Inquisition enforced Catholic orthodoxy among citizens and was marked by the persecution of Hindus.
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