Stones thrown at Okhla church

Stones were thrown at a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church at Jasola in Okhla when Saturday mass was being celebrated around 6.45 p.m.

Though no-one was injured, windowpanes on the first floor of the church were shattered. Panicked participants of the mass rushed out in alarm.

Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara of the Faridabad-Delhi Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese, which has over a lakh membership in Delhi, said: “I have just been informed about the incident and am on my way to the church, which is relatively new. A Malayalam mass was on when the alleged attack took place. Though no-one has been injured, parishioners are anxious.”

He said the local police had been informed about the incident. “We have nearly 500 families attached to the church,” parish priest Fr. Jacob Nangelimalil said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) M.S. Randhawa denied any attack, and said no criminal case had been registered.

A police source said a call was made by the church administration after it found “an unusually large gathering of local boys” outside its vicinity and panicked fearing the worst.

“We rushed a team to the spot as soon as the call was logged and realised that it was a misunderstanding on part of the mass attendees. No damage could be ascertained to have been caused to the church as claimed by the caller,” said a police source.