Over a month after St Sebastian’s Church in north-east Delhi was destroyed in a fire, a tableau inside the premises of another church in outer Delhi was found charred on Saturday morning.

The church authorities claimed that the Christmas crib was reduced to cinders  as someone threw a burning substance on it. The police suspect that it was a case of short-circuit as there were decorative wires around it.

The incident took place at the Cathedral Church of Redemption in Rohini, Sector 4. Head Priest Father Cyril Patrick noticed the burnt crib and informed police around 8 am .“A decorative light was  placed around the crib and it is possible that the wires caught fire due to a short-circuit, burning the crib,” said a police officer.

The police said if the fire was started intentionally, then other items near the crib would have also caught fire, which did not happen. But the police are probing all angles and examining the footage of CCTV cameras installed at the church premises.
Father Patrick told reporters that it was not a case of short-circuit. “The footage shows someone throwing a burning object inside the church premises. This is a deliberate attempt to spread panic,” he said.

He questioned the police theory by explaining that if a short-circuit had started the fire then why were the other lights around the crib still functioning. “Those lights were connected to the light around the crib,” he told reporters.

The church authorities said it is not the first time they have had a security issue.
Sensitive case

A few months ago, a statue was stolen from the church.

It is also a sensitive case given the fact that it comes a month after a substantial part of St Sebastian’s Church in north-east Delhi’s Dilshad Garden was destroyed in a major fire.
The Union home minister had ordered an SIT probe into the incident.
DH News Service