Velingkar’s Anticipatory Bail Rejected, what next?

Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The anticipatory bail of former RSS Chief Subhash Velingkar has been dismissed by the Additional Sessions Court.
The Additional District Court denied interim relief to former RSS Goa Chief Subhash Velingkar in relation to the FIR filed against him for allegedly offending statements against St Francis Xavier.
After wrapping up the arguments till midday, District Judge Bosco Roberts announced the decision at about nine o’clock at night. He ordered Velingkar to abide by the notices given by the Bicholim police and to assist with the investigation.
Since the Bicholim police filed a First Information Report (FIR) accusing the former RSS chief of uttering derogatory statements about St. Francis Xavier, the chief has been evading capture.
In response to the directive, the Goa Police increased the number of teams assigned to search potential Velingkar locations both inside and outside of Goa. Velingkar requested anticipatory bail in a court motion on Saturday, but the request was turned down for temporary relief.
MLA Cruz Silva, Zina Pereira, Warren Alemao, the complainant in the Bicholim FIR, and another petitioner claimed that Velingkar is a repeat offender who has made such vile remarks in the past.
They also asserted that his divisive comments were meant to deflect attention from important problems besetting the State, like widespread corruption in many industries.
However, Velingkar’s legal representative contended that his client had not broken any laws and that he recommended a DNA test be conducted on the holy relics for the benefit of Goans and St. Francis Xavier followers alike.
The lawyer went on to argue that Velingkar did not spark any issue and voiced fear of being detained should he show up for the probe.
In his motion before the court, Velingkar claimed that attempts to incite animosity towards the Hindu community and other religious groups appear to be a calculated move to deflect attention from the true problem—namely, evading the DNA test and turning it into a community dispute.
Velingkar also mentioned in his application that there is a conspiracy theory that some Buddhist monks and Sri Lankan devotees believe ”the relics of St Francis Xavier, preserved at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, might actually belong to the 15th-century Buddhist monk Ven Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thero.”
This conspiracy theory was recently reported by Sri Lankan journalist W T J S Kaviratne. According to him, this assertion has led to requests for forensic or DNA testing to verify the relics’ identities.