Church vandalized in Delhi, 5th attack in 2 months

In the midst of Assembly election campaign, a church was allegedly vandalised by unidentified persons today in South Delhi's Vasant Kunj area in fifth such incident since November, sparking outrage among the Christian community.

Police said the incident at St Alphonsa's church took place around 1 AM and a case of of theft has been registered.

They said a number of sacred items were damaged by the unidentified persons.
"We are investigating the incident and scanning the footage of CCTV installed near the church to identify the accused," said a senior police official.

"We are probing all angles in the case," said the official. The church's priest Father Vincent Salvatore claimed it was not a case of robbery.

"It is a clear case of desecration of the church. It has been happening for the last many months. It happened in St Sebastian's Church in Dilshad Garden, then in Vikaspuri and in Jasola. This is the fifth church," he said.

This is the fifth such incident in which a city church has been targeted since November last year.

Last month, a church was vandalised in West Delhi's Vikaspuri area. In December, the St Sebastian's Church in Dilshad Garden, was partly gutted and the Christian community had alleged foul play in the incident.