Police in Mumbai have increased security around roadside Christian crosses after a historic cross in a parish area was damaged on two successive days.
Authorities have confirmed that a closer watch has been placed across the St John the Evangelist parish following two separate incidents in which unidentified individuals damaged a cross. Senior police officer Ravindra Wani said the cases are under investigation.
On 18 May, police wrote to the parish priest, Fr Anthony Fernandes, requesting details of all crosses in the area so they could be properly protected from further vandalism. Officers in the Andheri East area are now monitoring the sites more closely.
Fr Fernandes said the parish has identified around 15 roadside crosses, several of which are believed to be centuries old. He reported the latest incident to police on 14 May after the same cross was damaged on 13 and 14 May.
Roadside crosses are a familiar feature across Mumbai and are closely linked to Catholic communities whose roots trace back to the Portuguese colonial period between the 16th and 18th centuries. Many of these crosses are not only places of prayer but also serve as historical markers of local Christian heritage.
According to the parish, the affected cross is regularly used by worshippers, with more than 10,000 parishioners passing by it and stopping to pray or light candles on their daily journeys.
Catholic lawyer and trustee of the Watchdog Foundation, Godfrey Pimenta, said the repeated damage should not be treated as random vandalism. He suggested it may be a deliberate act intended to disturb religious harmony and cause fear within minority communities.
He added that CCTV coverage in the area may help investigators identify those responsible.
Another trustee of the foundation, Nicholas Almeida, said there have been several similar incidents in recent years involving damage to crosses within the Archdiocese of Bombay. He also raised concerns that some incidents may be linked to disputes over land use, pointing to a recent case where a structure was allegedly built around a 200-year-old cross in the same locality before being ordered for demolition by municipal authorities.
In 2009, the Bombay High Court instructed authorities not to demolish roadside crosses in Mumbai that existed before 1964, in line with a ruling from the Supreme Court of India.
Original reporting by UCA News. Rewritten for this publication.
