A gang of Jamatia tribal members destroyed a Catholic prayer shed in Komali village, Tripura, when about 15 Christian families had gathered there for the Sunday prayer service on October 2.
The video of the destruction quickly went viral on social media.
According to parish priest and Franciscan Father Leejesh Mathew, Komali village is one of the 15 villages that make up St. Joseph Vaz parish in Amarpur, and the shed was built on property that belongs to the parish.
Last year, the local Hindus had protested against the building of a church in the parish. They feared that as time went on, they would become fewer. The Hindu villagers, however, had not interrupted the prayer gatherings. According to Father Mathew, this is the first instance of its kind in the village.
The priest added that they are looking into the incident's underlying cause. A peace dialogue with the neighbourhood has been started by the church.
Mass is only held in the community once every three weeks. Therefore, the parish priest was absent when the incident took place.
