A church in West Delhi’s Vikaspuri was on Wednesday vandalised by two men who pushed down the Mother Mary statue before damaging the glass cabinet it was kept in.
With probe still on in recent cases of alleged arson in three other churches in the city, the incident has added to the apprehension of the Christian community about their safety.
Despite the entire Vikaspuri incident being captured on camera, the attackers had not been identified till late evening.
ADVERTISEMENT
The attack took place around 4-20 a.m. at Lady of Graces Church in Outer Delhi.
The video footage captured by the CCTV camera mounted close by shows a tall, bearded man coming on a scooter. The person then breaks the glass of the cabinet built-in on the boundary wall of the church. The attacker then drives away, only to return seconds later.
The second time round, the person is joined by another man wearing a turban and riding a motorcycle. Even though the second person remains seated on his vehicle, the bearded man can be seen getting down and toppling the statue.
ADVERTISEMENT
A car and a pedestrian are also seen in the video but neither informed those inside the church nor the police about the incident.
Assistant Priest of the church Father Balraj said he was sleeping on the top floor of the church during the incident and was informed about the attack by someone on the phone. Father Balraj immediately made a call to the police control room. A case has been registered.
“The CCTV has not captured the registration numbers of the vehicles which would have made tracking the suspects easier. We are now trying to trace the identity of the persons with the help of their photographs,” said a police officer.
Congress leader and former West Delhi MP Mahabal Mishra also reached the spot in the evening.
As an added preventive measure, police will deploy four constables around the church from Wednesday night.
But the occurrence of the incident despite the church authorities expressing fears of safety several times since the Dilshad Garden church fire has also raised questions on the role of the police.
“There is a clear pattern in these attacks. I had conveyed this to the top police officers in at least three meetings that we had with them since the Dilshad Garden arson. All we received were assurances which clearly weren't enough to prevent an attack,” said Father Balraj.