New Delhi: Last month, three people were arrested after church property in west Delhi's Vikaspuri was vandalised. The arrests were made on the basis of CCTV footage from the church and outside, the police said. On that CCTV footage, a man was seen coming up to the church window at 4.30 am, and punching at something after a short prayer.
"A clear pattern of orchestrated attacks is emerging as more and more churches are targeted, vandalised and set on fire," Delhi's Archbishop Anil JT Couto had said then.
Earlier in January, a minor fire was reported from a church in Rohini in outer Delhi. The Christmas crib placed outside the building was completely burnt.
In December last year, a church in East Delhi's Dilshad Garden area, the St Sebastian's Church, was burnt down in a fire that the police confirmed was a case of arson. A forensic team found traces of kerosene inside the church premises.
Christian groups have held protests and the matter was raised in Parliament too. The Home Minister had ordered an investigation by a special team.
The St Alphonsa's church in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj was allegedly vandalised today. The fifth attack on a church since December comes just five days before elections in Delhi.
Members of the church said unidentified people jumped in from the main gate wall, broke opened the main gate of the church at around 3 am and ransacked the sacristy cupboards and other property.
"Police has been asked by headquarters to give security to churches in Delhi but how don't know how much security was given here. I am told police does patrolling once a week but nothing more than that," said Father Mathew, Chancellor of the Archdioceses of Delhi.
"A clear pattern of orchestrated attacks is emerging as more and more churches are targeted, vandalised and set on fire," Delhi's Archbishop Anil JT Couto had said then.
Advertisement
In December last year, a church in East Delhi's Dilshad Garden area, the St Sebastian's Church, was burnt down in a fire that the police confirmed was a case of arson. A forensic team found traces of kerosene inside the church premises.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Delhi Hospital Shooting: 3 Arrested, Minor Was "Main Shooter": Cops Delhi University Inviting Applications For Certificate Course In Pali/Tibetan Man Insulted By Employer's Son Takes Revenge, Robs Him Off Rs 3.5 Crore Windows Computers Leading To 'Blue Screen Of Death' Due To This Error Explained: What Is Causing The Dreaded 'Blue Screen Of Death' On Windows? Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down "Macrohard >> Microsoft": Elon Musk Takes A Dig At Microsoft Amid Outage 10 Health Benefits Of Tree Tea Oil Riots Break Out In London, Bus Set On Fire, Police Car Flipped Over Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.