Daijiworld Media Network - Margao
Margao, Oct 30: Bringing an end to a 13-year-old legal battle, the Margao Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) has acquitted all 22 accused in the 2012 Velim Church attack case, including Fr Lucio Dias and the late Fr Romano Gonsalves.
The case stemmed from a confrontation in 2012 at St Xavier Church, Velim, where parishioners and priests were accused of assaulting CID officers during a tense protest.
Fr Romano, then the parish priest of St Xavier Church, and Fr Lucio, who headed the Assolna Church at the time, were among those booked by the Cuncolim police following the incident.
With the JMFC’s ruling, all charges against the accused have now been dismissed, marking a long-awaited closure to one of South Goa’s most contentious cases.