{"id":2966,"date":"2015-02-05T14:44:47","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T14:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nehadixit.in\/?p=2966"},"modified":"2023-09-15T14:17:14","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T14:17:14","slug":"police-claim-theft-as-motive-for-delhi-church-desecration-but-donation-box-was-left-untouched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nehadixit.in\/police-claim-theft-as-motive-for-delhi-church-desecration-but-donation-box-was-left-untouched\/","title":{"rendered":"Police claim theft as motive for Delhi church desecration, but donation box was left untouched"},"content":{"rendered":"

Political factors are responsible for the act of vandalism at a Christian shrine in the capital, community members say.
\n<\/em>Neha Dixit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even as the Delhi police are treating the desecration of a church in the city\u2019s Vasant Kunj area as a case of burglary, community members are more wary: many believe the act of vandalism could have been politically motivated.<\/p>\n

The break-in at St. Alphonsa\u2019s Church in South Delhi, which occurred in the wee hours of Monday morning, was the fifth time a Christian place of worship has been targetted in the city over the past two months. The incident took place as the city gets ready to vote in assembly elections on February 7, and against the backdrop of the gharwapasi campaign launched by the Sangh Parivar to get members of minority communities to convert to Hinduism.<\/p>\n

The vandals at St. Alphonsa\u2019s Church broke the tabernacle, the most sacred symbol in the shrine, and ransacked the sacristy, where vestments and other objects associated with ceremonies are stored. \u00a0\u201cThe violators specifically destroyed the holy symbols of the church,\u201d said Father Vincent Salvatore, the priest in charge of the church.\u00a0 \u201cThe donation boxes and other valuables of the church were left intact. It is clear that it was done with a clear intention to hurt the religious sentiment of the Christian community in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mixed community<\/strong><\/p>\n

Situated on Green Avenue, the poshest part of Vasant Kunj area and surrounded by massive farmhouses, St. Alphonsa Church serves about 500 families. \u00a0Fifty per cent of them belong to lower-income groups.<\/p>\n

Joseph, a government employee who declined to give his last name, said that the number of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh shakhas in the area have grown in the last few months. \u201cWe have been regularly receiving updates from fellow members from the nearby slums in Mehrauli that they are being regularly pressurised into converting to Hinduism,\u201d he alleged. \u201cI don\u2019t know if that has a direct connection with this attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same claim was made by Meena Devi, a resident of Rangpuri Pahari, who works as a domestic maid. \u201cEven before the campaigning for Delhi elections began, the shakha members in our area are targeting Christian families in Rangpuri,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are building pressure on us to vote for their candidate. The leader of the shakha even told my sister, \u2018Listen to us or have you heard of gharwapsi?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Community frightened<\/strong><\/p>\n

She was not sure whether the gharwapsi campaign had any connection with the attack on the church, but said it was something the police should investigate. However, she added, \u201cit is certainly meant to scare poor people like us\u201d.<\/p>\n

Though members of St. Alphonsa Church were unwilling to speculate further, Father Mathew Koyickal,\u00a0Chancellor of Archdiocese of Delhi, was much more forthright. \u201cThe concerted attacks on churches across Delhi are alarming and clearly against the secular fabric of the country,\u201d he said. He added, \u201c\u201cWe are a small minority religion in India and no fundamentalist group should feel insecure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the church authorities had filed a complaint to the police stating that the attack is a \u201cdeliberate attempt to create disharmony between the Christian community and others\u201d, the authorities seem to have dismissed the church\u2019s apprehensions. Delhi\u2019s Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Deepak Mishra said that a case of burglary and theft has been registered at the Vasant Kunj police station and \u201cthe matter will be investigated\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Published by Scroll.in on February 3, 2015
\nLink:\u00a0http:\/\/scroll.in\/article\/703968\/Police-claim-theft-as-motive-for-Delhi-church-desecration,-but-donation-box-was-left-untouched<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Political factors are responsible for the act of vandalism at a Christian shrine in the capital, community members say. Neha Dixit Even as the Delhi police are treating the desecration of a church in the city\u2019s Vasant Kunj area as a case of burglary, community members are more wary: many believe the act of vandalism…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,112],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"yoast_head":"\nPolice claim theft as motive for Delhi church desecration, but donation box was left untouched - Neha Dixit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nehadixit.in\/police-claim-theft-as-motive-for-delhi-church-desecration-but-donation-box-was-left-untouched\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Police claim theft as motive for Delhi church desecration, but donation box was left untouched - Neha Dixit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Political factors are responsible for the act of vandalism at a Christian shrine in the capital, community members say. 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