File photo of St Thomas Catholic Church in West Bengal
The St Thomas Catholic Church at Taherpur in West Bengal's Nadia district was vandalised on Thursday night and the holiest item inside, the tabernacle, wrenched free from its moorings and thrown in the driveway outside.
Father Satish Makal, who is in charge of the church but was away from Taherpur last night, said, "This is religious harassment. The most valuable item in the church was removed. It is very painful."
He also recalled that a church had been attacked and a nun raped at Ranaghat, also in Nadia district, in March.
Early Friday morning, the caretaker of the church, Tapan Kumar Mandal, had come to ring the bell as usual when he noticed one of the doors of the church forced open. "I had locked up the church yesterday. When I saw a door open, I checked and saw that the tabernacle was missing. I immediately informed the church authorities," he said.
The police rushed to the spot. Investigations revealed there was no theft of any item but some items had been displaced and a wooden box forced open. A door had been broken, apparently with a crowbar.
Locals crowded to the church, upset at the vandalism. Sudipta Mandal, who lives close to the church, rushed there when she heard about the incident. "Nothing valuable except the tabernacle was taken. The tabernacle was lying outside the church in the driveway. It seemed somebody had tried to smash it to bits. It is very disturbing."
There have been no arrests or detentions till reports last came in.