Close X
Friday, November 15, 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

    E-files, the new Modi mantra to paperless governance

    E-files, the new Modi mantra to paperless governance
    No more piles of dog-eared files and clipped paper stacks littering office desks. It is the time of e-files in the new government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    E-files, the new Modi mantra to paperless governance

    Woman gang raped inside UP police station, SHO nabbed

    A woman was gang raped allegedly by four policemen inside a police station in Uttar Pradesh. The SHO was arrested Wednesday.

    Woman gang raped inside UP police station, SHO nabbed

    Let's create a 'skill India', not 'scam India', says Modi; wants all aboard

    Let's create a 'skill India', not 'scam India', says Modi; wants all aboard
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday his government will work for the poor, improve the lot of the weaker sections including Muslims, curb price rise, take all political parties along in its march to progress and seek to change India's identity from "scam India" to "skill India" .

    Let's create a 'skill India', not 'scam India', says Modi; wants all aboard

    How Punjab's Paddy Straw Burning is Impacting Climate and Health

    How Punjab's Paddy Straw Burning is Impacting Climate and Health
    A study by an international team using satellite and ground-based instruments has shown that crop residue burning, a common practice in northern India and particularly in Punjab, is contributing to atmospheric pollution over the entire Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) that may have climate and health implications.

    How Punjab's Paddy Straw Burning is Impacting Climate and Health

    Centre will study Gujarat's housing model

    Centre will study Gujarat's housing model
    The BJP-led NDA government, which has affordable housing for all as one of its objectives, will study the Gujarat model of housing for poor, Union Minister of Housing and Poverty Alleviation M. Venkaiah Naidu said here Tuesday.

    Centre will study Gujarat's housing model

    Delhi Police studies Surat's CCTV system

    Delhi Police studies Surat's CCTV system
    A Delhi Police team Tuesday went to Surat in Gujarat to study the CCTV cameras installed there in the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

    Delhi Police studies Surat's CCTV system