Manhunt for two suspects from UP in Goa Missionary murder

Panaji, Mar 18 (UNI) Police has launched a massive manhunt for two youths from Uttar Pradesh who allegedly strangulated and impaled to death a Catholic missionary with a screw driver at his Macazana church house premises in the Salcette taluka of South Goa early today.

The victim, Ezibuio Ferrao (63), had hosted a dinner last night for the two - Amit and Aliz - who are now at large. The police are yet to find out the motive, as no cash or other valuables were reported to have been stolen from his house.

The incident came to light when the victim's bedroom, locked from outside, was opened in the morning by parishioners, following an alarm raised by his cook Sunmit Rodrigues, who was also locked in his room form the outside. They had immediately alerted the Maina-Curtorim police station.

Police were tight-lipped about the occurence of the homicide amid bitter criticism of their failure to check a spate of burglaries reported in churches and vandalism of crosses and chapels during the last one month.

Senior officials including the Deputy Inspector General of Police Ujjwal Mishra and Superintendent of Police S M Prabhu Desai rushed to the spot to supervise the investigation.

Meanwhile, the Diocesan Centre for Social Communications here expressed ''deep pain and anguish at the cold blooded murder of Diocesan priest Fr Eusebio Ferrao''.

''We condemn this grave act of cowardice on our priest and appeal to the concerned authorities to take urgent and concerted measues to nab the culprits at the earliest,'' a communique said.

Fr Ferrao, served the Diocese in different capacities in the parishes of Piedade-Divar, Ambelim-Assolna, Carambolim and Agacaim, it added.

He was also the member of the Diocesan Commission for Litruby and served as Dean of the Goda Velha deanery. He was the parish priest of St Francis Xavier parish, Macazana until his death.

UNI BM KU RA RN1916