At Least 18 Crosses At Mumbai Church's Cemetery Vandalised: Police

Crosses in a cemetery attached to a church in suburban Mahim were vandalized by an unidentified person, police said on Saturday.

Employees of St Michael's Church found in the morning that at least 18 crosses were broken, a police official said.

"It is with sadness we would like to inform that a miscreant entered our church premises in the morning and vandalized about 18 crosses in the cemetery," the church said in a statement.

The police have assured that they will arrest the culprit and take appropriate legal action, it added.

Mahim Police registered a First Information Report under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and are examining the CCTV footage from the church premises, the police official said.

Reacting to the incident, the Nationalist Congress Party's national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said it seemed like a "deliberate attempt to pressurise and disturb the peace-loving Catholic community in Mumbai."

"News of graves and crosses vandalised at the St Michael's Church graveyard in Mahim, Mumbai is very disturbing. This incident happening immediately after the temporary withdrawal of land acquisition notice to St Peter's church, Bandra raises many doubts," he tweeted.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Mumbai police must take immediate cognisance of this issue, he said.

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