Church vandalized in Punjab, police clueless

The Christian community is tense in Amritsar, Punjab after some unidentified miscreants broke into a 200–year old church and indulged in acts of vandalism, destroying and stealing historic and religious items.

According to Uday Singh, the priest of the St. Paul's Church in Amritsar, some unscrupulous people had entered the church on September 13, indulging in an act of sacrilege of historic and religious items, including the holy book.

In a complaint made to the SSP, Singh said that he suspected that some people (non–Christians) illegally occupying the Church premises may have committed the crime. However, even they could not have dared to vandalize the Church without outside support, he said.

According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) reports, on September 16, Bishop Samantaroy of the Church of North India (CNI), Diocese of Amritsar, led a delegation to meet the SSP and urged him to speed up the enquiry process and to take steps to recover the stolen items which include the altar Cross.

However, the police have till date only registered registered a First Information Report (FIR) and have arrested seven persons, with some still absconding.

According to sources close to the development, the Christian community in Punjab are now beginning to grow restless over the slow progress being made in the investigation and the failure on part of the police in recovering the stolen articles.

The EFI has also learnt from Bishop Samantaroy that though the seven suspects were still in police custody are still arrested, what concerned him was why they were not being presented before the court.

Bishop Samantaroy also expressed concerns that these attacks were being perpetrated by anti–communal people who wanted to break the unity, peace and harmony in Amritsar, adding that the Church in Punjab has been enjoying a time of growth and solidarity in recent times.

EFI has urged Christians nationwide to pray for the Christian community in Amritsar, Punjab and petition to the higher authorities requesting urgent action to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice.

The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) is a national alliance of evangelical Christians and is a central network of evangelicals in India. It exists to empower and mobilize the local churches, church related institutions and individual Christians for effective witness for Christ.