Mysuru: Two days after Christmas, the Saint Mary's Church in Periyapatna here was vandalized by unidentified people on Tuesday. The miscreants damaged the statue of baby Jesus and some other furniture on the church premises. The possibility of some articles being stolen from the church is also rife. The local police have taken cognizance of the matter and have constituted teams to systematically probe the incident.
Father John Paul of the church has lodged a complaint against unidentified men, as the culprits immediately fled the spot after vandalizing the church premises. The officials are meanwhile inspecting the CCTV cameras around to identify and trace the miscreants.
The destruction came to light after one of the church staff reached the church at around 6 pm on Tuesday. The pastor was immediately contacted, who alerted the police about the matter. So far, the police have been able to ascertain that the culprits entered the church from the back door of the church. The money collection box in front of the church was missing, indicating a theft attempt by the miscreants.
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Hate crimes against Christians have become rampant in the country over the past few days against the backdrop of the issue of forceful religious conversions in the limelight these days. Several churches and Christian missionaries have been subjected to such violence and vandalization in the past in states like Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Uttarakhand among others.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had last year said that he was 'seriously considering implementing a law against forced conversions in the state'.
