The mortal remains of 26-year-old John Dias were laid to rest on Saturday, following a funeral service, held at Our Lady of Bethlehem Church, Chandor. He had been fatally shot on March 20, 2022, while on duty at a superstore in Texas, USA, and his mortal remains arrived in Goa from the US, via Doha (Qatar), early on Saturday morning.
On Saturday afternoon, the funeral cortege left his residence at Culsabhatt, in Chandor, for his last rites at Our Lady of Bethlehem Church, Chandor. Youth in football jerseys served as pallbearers as they carried the coffin of Dias, who was the goalkeeper for the Chandor Football Club, and represented the village in inter-village tournaments before emigrating to America.
The parish priest, Rev Fr Simao Rodrigues, celebrated the mass, which was attended by a large crowd, including some politicians. The Sarpanch of Chandor, Edward D’Silva, and the local legislator, Yuri Alemao, also attended the service.
John was shot at point blank range by a masked man on that fateful day in March. He was the only son of Inacinha Dias, and would have turned 27 next month.
