NEW DELHI: Two men vandalised the grotto at the Church of Our Lady of Graces in Vikaspuri here on Wednesday sparking outrage among the Christian community. The entire incident has been captured in the CCTV footage.
Security has been intensified in the area following the incident. The CCTV camera footage revealed a motorcyclist at the spot at 4.15 am. He went away after stone pelting and returned a while later with an accomplice to allegedly steal a statue of the church. Police say that it seems to be a case of attempted theft, but the church authorities say it shows a clear pattern of orchestrated attacks on churches in the capital.
The incident was reported at around 6.30 am, when the priest of the church found the window pane broken and raised an alarm. The CCTV footage has been handed over to the police. According to police, the CCTV footage shows two people vandalising the church. An FIR has been registered with the Vikaspuri police station.
“The CCTV footage clearly shows that someone has done this deliberately. One person came on a scooter, broke the glass, then returned a minute later and toppled the statue,” said Father Balraj.
“Two persons came on a motorcycle and scooter. The man on the scooter went towards the church and broke a glass pane. He is seen leaving in the footage only to return a minute later and pulling down a statue,” said he said.
Delhi Archbishop Anil J T Couto said, “A clear pattern of orchestrated attacks on churches is emerging as more and more churches are targeted, vandalised and set on fire. This is very disturbing and we request the local authorities to take adequate measures to bring to book the miscreants who are threatening to weaken the social fabric of this great nation.”
In December last year, a substantial part of St. Sebastian’s Church in north east Delhi’s Dilshad Garden was destroyed in a fire. It was alleged that unidentified miscreants set the church on fire.
Days after that incident, another church in south east Delhi’s Jasola reported that miscreants had thrown a stone inside the building. On January 3, a Christmas crib kept in the premises of a church in outer Delhi’s Rohini was burnt.