The St. Alphonsa's church in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj area was vandalized Monday morning. The attack was the fifth in various parts of Delhi since in the past two months and comes just five days before the assembly elections in the national capital.
The police suspect it as an act of burglary and have registered a case of robbery but church said it is "clear case of desecration and not theft".
The church members alleged that some unidentified persons jumped in from the main gate wall and entered the church at around 3:00 a.m. and ransacked the sacristy cupboard and other property.
Police confirmed that prayer items kept in the church were thrown around and some other things were also broken.
"We are investigating the incident and scanning the footage of CCTV installed near the church to identify the accused," said a police official.
Father Mathew, Chancellor of the Archdioceses of Delhi lamented the inadequate police protection given to the church despite recent attacks.
"Police has been asked by headquarters to give security to churches in Delhi but how don't know how much security was given here. I am told police does patrolling once a week but nothing more than that," said Father Mathew was quoted as saying by NDTv.
Parish priest Vincent Salvatore was quoted as saying it was a clear case of desecration and not theft as the materials stolen were mostly used for prayer.
"This is a clear case of desecration, and goes much beyond theft.. Police shouldn't treat it merely as a case of theft,"said Dr. John Dayal, spokesperson for the United Christian Forum for Human Rights.
Delhi's Archbishop Anil JT Couto has strongly condemned the attack and said, "A clear pattern of orchestrated attacks is emerging as more and more churches are targeted, vandalised and set on fire," he said.
Earlier, on January 14, Church of Our Lady of Graces in Vikaspuri was vandalised; the miscreants smashed the glass pane containing a grotto.
On January 3, when there was a fire at Church of Resurrection at Rohini locality, the Christmas crib was mysteriously burnt down.
The two incidents happened within a few weeks after Our Lady of Fatima Forane Church in Okhla was vandalized, the window panes of the church were broken on December 7 during evening mass.
The first of this series of attacks on the churches in Delhi first happened on December 1, when St Sebastian Catholic Church in Dilshad Garden was burnt down, prompting the government to order police to ramp up security outside all religious places.
The church is named after Saint Alphonsa, the first person of Indian origin to be canonised by Vatican in 2008.
