A statue of Jesus Christ was desecrated in Haryana’s Ambala Cantonment on Sunday afternoon, reported NDTV. The vandalism took place at the entrance gate of the Holy Redeemer Church.
The police who looked at the CCTV footage said that the statue was damaged between 12.30 am and 1.40 am by two men. “They haven’t been identified yet, police teams have been assigned to investigate it,” Naresh Kumar, Station House Officer of Sadar police station, said.
A first information report was lodged in the Sadar police station based on a complaint by the church authorities. The two suspects have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 295A (deliberate or malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 427 (mischief causing damage), 452 (house trespass), Deputy Superintendent of Police Ram Kumar told The Times of India.
The complainant cited the CCTV footage as evidence of the attack. “It is a very sensitive issue for the Christian community and our religious sentiments are deeply hurt,” said Father Patras Mundu in his complaint to the police. “In the CCTV footage, it is very obvious that this is intentionally done.”
Father Mundu said there has never been such an incident at the church, which was established in the 1840s. Recalling the attack, he said the suspects entered the church after midnight. “The Christmas prayers were completed by 9.30 pm, by 10pm people had gone out and by 10.30 pm, the entire Church including the gate was closed,” he added.
Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said that three teams were formed to catch the miscreants, NDTV reported. “We hope that we will soon arrest those involved based on the video footage,” he said.
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