A 10-year-old church in Tamil Nadu's Chengalpattu district was found burnt on Saturday amid coronavirus lockdown. No services were held in the last two months at the church after a nationwide shutdown was announced in March to tackle the pandemic. The cause of the fire is not yet clear and police are probing the matter.
Visuals from the site show a roofless structure with doors burnt.
Ramesh Jebaraj, a visually-challenged pastor who heads the Real Peace Gospel Ministry, told NDTV that the church near River Palar - about 110 km from state capital Chennai - had a thatched roof which got burnt in the fire.
Charred remains of casuarina poles, burnt musical drum, microphones, a table and a few other items could also be seen in pictures. "This appears to be a planned attack. We don't suspect anyone in particular. People of all faiths come here for prayers. May be someone is jealous. We forgive them."
The police is yet to register a first information report or FIR in the case.
A police officer investigating the case told NDTV: "We have not found any motive yet. Local community has no problem. We are going to register a case of accidental fire."
The church in Karaithittu village, Ramesh said, had no power connection. "There is no possibility of any electrical short circuit. We use only rechargeable batteries during service and take them back," he added.
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