Panaji Judicial Magistrate on Thursday directed the Goa Superintendent of Police, Crime, to execute the arrest warrant against Fr Newton Rodrigues, who was a parish priest in Goa some years ago. The Goan priest now serves in a parish in Canada.
Fr Newton had been asked to be present in the lower court on Thursday to depose in the criminal trial of activist lawyer Aires Rodrigues and 14 others.
The case goes back seven years when Fr Newton who served as parish priest of Ribandar Church faced a confrontation with the lawyer and his supporters over allegations of child molestation.
The priest denied all allegations of misconduct and the government closed the case against him. But the lawyer and others are still being tried for trespass.
Lawyer Aires Rodrigues, who is arguing in his own defence in the court, said he would move the government to seek Interpol help to get the priest back from Canada.
