Fr Mahesh Suicide Case, Shirva Parishioners resume Protest
Udupi: More than 500 parishioners gathered in front of the Shirva Church on November 3, demanding justice to Fr Mahesh who had committed suicide by hanging himself in his chamber on October 11.
On November 2, parishioners of Shirva and surrounding areas had launched a flash protest in front of the parish priest’s office demanding to reveal the investigation report of the suicide case of Fr Mahesh D’Souza.
The protesters demanded Bishop Gerald Lobo to come to the spot immediately and give a statement about developments of the case.
After getting assurance from the Bishop that he will call the parish council meeting on November 3 to discuss the death of Fr Mahesh, the parishioners withdrew the protest.
As the parish council meeting was going on, on November 3, more than 500 parishioners gathered in front of the church and protested demanding to reveal the investigation report of Fr Mahesh death case. Local MLA Lalaji R Mendon also joined the protesters and assured his support.
On Sunday, November 3 morning after the mass the parish council meeting was held in the presence of the Bishop. After the meeting, the Bishop addressed the gathering and said, “I am also pained by the sudden death of Fr Mahesh. Today, during the parish council meeting the present status of the case was explained. The police department is conducting the inquiry of the case, the diocese or the parish priest is not interfering in the investigation process. The family members have requested to stop the inquiry of the case but the Diocese has urged the department to continue the investigation process. As per the direction of the Udupi SP the Shirva police investigating the case. The police are waiting for the final post-mortem report after which we can get a clear picture of Fr Mahesh’s death”, he said.
The protesters demanded to transfer the parish priest and the assistant parish priest immediately. Responding to the demand, the bishop said that we will hold an internal inquiry after which a decision will be taken.
In the meantime, the Kaup MLA Lalaji R Mendon and former MLA Vinay Kumar Sorake also addressed the protesters and assured them of a fair inquiry by the police department. They also said that if there is a need for a high-level inquiry from any govt agency we are ready to convince the government, they said.
