Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Goa government has informed the High Court of Bombay at Goa that its investigation had found no evidence against Pastor Domnic D’Souza of the Siolim-based Five Pillar Church and his wife, Joan, in connection with a 2022 case of alleged forceful religious conversion.
The submission was made through a closure report placed before the Court, following which the petition seeking to quash the FIR was disposed of.
The couple had earlier been accused of practising black magic and engaging in illegal religious conversions.
In January 2024, Mapusa police arrested Pastor D’Souza based on a complaint filed by a Tamil Nadu native who alleged he was asked to renounce his faith and embrace Christianity. It was the eighth FIR lodged against the pastor.
His arrest had come nearly six months after the High Court set aside a December 2022 order of the North Goa Collector, which had barred D’Souza and his wife from conducting religious activities.
