The State government has handed over the investigation into the death of Mahesh D’ Souza, the Assistant Parish Priest of Our Lady of Health Church, Shirva, in Udupi district, to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the State police.
The Home Department recently passed the orderfollowing persistent demand from hundreds of parishioners. D’Souza was found dead in the office of Don Bosco School, where he was the principal too, at around 9 p.m. on October 11, 2019.
Udupi Additional Superintendent of Police Kumarachandra confirmed having received the order. He told The Hindu the probe was yet to be handed over as officials concerned from the CID were yet to arrive.
Thirty-six year old D’Souza was appointed at the Shirva Church in 2016 and was also made the principal of the school. A native of Moodubelle in Udupi district, he was ordained into priesthood in 2013.
While Udupi police claimed that there was no foul play in the death of the priest, parishioners claimed that D’Souza was forced to take the extreme step by some vested interests. They had held several protests demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death.
