The Mahiti Seva Samiti, a non-governmental organisation, has demanded a probe by the CBI into the death of assistant priest of Shirva Church Mahesh D’Souza.
Addressing presspersons here on Monday, G.A. Koteyar, president of the samiti, said that Mahesh D’Souza (36), who was also the principal of the Don Bosco CBSE School, was found dead in the principal’s chamber at Shirva on October 11, 2019.
Handing over the case to the CBI would ensure that the case would be investigated thoroughly and properly and the guilty were punished, he said.
This would provide justice to the parents of Mahesh D’Souza, he said.
The people of Shirva believed that some eminent persons were involved in this case of unnatural death. There was a possibility that this case could be closed due to their monetary influence, he said.
If the demand for a probe by the CBI was not accepted and a proper FIR not filed, then the samiti would stage a demonstration in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, he said.
D’Souza had a clean image and was without vices. There had been no proper response from the parish council or the church and the diocese authorities regarding the death of D’Souza. The shifting of D’Souza’s body to a private hospital instead of a government hospital after his death had given rise to suspicions, he said.
Though the church authorities had said that depression was the cause for the unnatural death of D’Souza, they had not explained the reason for this depression, he said.
Cornard Castelino, a parishioner, said that people wanted to know the whether it was an unnatural death or murder. “We want to know the cause of his death. Only a proper probe could reveal it,” he said.
Steven Periera, Johnson Castelino, Praveen Codard, office-bearers of the samiti, and Sunil Cabral from Shirva, were present.
