Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
India

West Delhi Church Vandalized, Incident Captured On CCTV

IANS, 14 Jan, 2015 12:51 PM
    A church here was vandalized before dawn Wednesday, the fourth such incident in the capital in seven weeks, police said.
     
    The incident, which took place around 4.20 a.m., was captured by a CCTV camera installed inside the premises of Our Lady Of Graces Church at Vikaspuri in west Delhi.
     
    "The CCTV footage shows that two people came on a scooter. One entered the church's premises and smashed a glass window. He also threw the statue of Mother Mary on the floor," Father Balraj of the church told IANS.
     
    The police received a call from the church around 7.30 a.m.
     
    Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Monika Bhardwaj told IANS that a case had been filed against two unidentified men for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings.
     
    Bhardwaj said the police have a clear picture of one of the culprits who toppled the statue of Mother Mary and smashed the glass window. "He might be in his late 30s."
     
    Father Savarimuthu Sankar, spokesperson of the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, told IANS: "We see a clear pattern in these attacks."
     
    He said the attacks on churches occurring at regular intervals had unnerved Christians in Delhi.
     
    He said the attacks took place most on the city's outskirts and at four different directions within 44 days.
     
    "We cannot say if these incidents are related to the (coming Delhi) elections or the handiwork of some fundamentalists. But it is a matter of concern and police should take proper action," he added.
     
    Three churches were attacked earlier in separate incidents.
     
    Earlier this month, a minor fire was reported from a church in Rohini in west Delhi. The Christmas crib outside was charred.
     
    Last month, some unidentified people threw stones at Our Lady of Fatima Forane Church at Jasola in south Delhi and broke window panes during the evening Mass.
     
    St Sebastian's Church, a Catholic church at Dilshad Garden in east Delhi, was burnt down in December. Police confirmed it was a case of arson.
     
    According to the 2011 Census report, Christians number around 130,000 in Delhi, which is home to about 17 million. The Christian population in India is 24 million -- of the total 1.2 billion.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    No bed for ailing African woman at AIIMS

    No bed for ailing African woman at AIIMS
    Martha Susan Kabura (51) has come all the way from Kenya to India's premiere institute, AIIMS, hoping for a cure for her fatal ailment. But for the past week, she has been camping outside the hospital - in the sweltering

    No bed for ailing African woman at AIIMS

    Uproar in India: Baba Ramdev's aide meets Most Wanted Terrorist Hafiz Saeed

    Uproar in India: Baba Ramdev's aide meets Most Wanted Terrorist Hafiz Saeed
    Yoga guru Ramdev's close aide Ved Pratap Vaidik's meeting with 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan sparked off a major row Monday with the Congress seeking to pin down the Narendra Modi government by asking if he was sent as an emissary even as the ruling BJP distanced itself from the meeting, asserting Saeed was a "terrorist".

    Uproar in India: Baba Ramdev's aide meets Most Wanted Terrorist Hafiz Saeed

    Akali Dal leaders to meet president over Haryana SGPC

    Akali Dal leaders to meet president over Haryana SGPC
    Leaders of Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal will meet President Pranab Mukherjee soon to protest against the recent bill passed by the Haryana assembly under which a new Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) would be set up to manage gurdwaras in Haryana.

    Akali Dal leaders to meet president over Haryana SGPC

    Haryana SGPC move illegal, Congress wants to divide Sikhs: Badal

    Haryana SGPC move illegal, Congress wants to divide Sikhs: Badal
    Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Saturday termed the move of the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Haryana government to set up a separate committee for managing Sikh shrines in the state "illegal and patently wrong" as well as "politically motivated".

    Haryana SGPC move illegal, Congress wants to divide Sikhs: Badal

    SGPC vs HSGPC: Is Hooda's Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee illegal

    SGPC vs HSGPC: Is Hooda's Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee illegal
    For Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the passing of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Bill, which paves the way for a separate body for Haryana's gurdwaras, may have been a cakewalk Friday but this has to overcome hurdles with serious legal and political implications.

    SGPC vs HSGPC: Is Hooda's Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee illegal

    Air India becomes 27th member of Star Alliance

    Air India becomes 27th member of Star Alliance
    State-run Air India Friday became 27th member of Star Alliance. The move will provide customers access to lounges of member airlines the world over and single-ticket travel across airlines and other such facilities.

    Air India becomes 27th member of Star Alliance