A church in the Tumkur town of Karnataka was attacked on Thursday by unidentified assailants. The miscreants poured kerosene on the door of the church and tried to set it on fire, but it seems the blaze did not spread beyond that.
The local police told International Business Times India, they are investigating the case.
Tumkur town, officially known as Tumakuru, is the headquarters of the Tumakuru district in southern Karnataka.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Chidanandaswamy told IBTimes India the attack took place at 4:10 a.m. and was caught on CCTV cameras. The CCTV footage the incident showed a masked man walking up to church door and throwing a lit bottle at it. He then went on to throw two other blazing bottles at the door before walking away.
That the attack took place at such an early hour in the day could be due to the miscreants trying to conceal their identity in the dark of the pre-dawn.
A church attendant who had awoken to answer nature's call spotted the fire at 4:20 a.m. called people from surrounding areas, who came and doused the fire. It was around that time that the policement were also called the DySP told IBTimes India.
Chidanandaswamy also said there had been some tension in the area, but did not confirm if that was the reason behind the attack. "There had been some effort to rename the road in front of the church after the church itself. However, the locals had opposed the move," he told IBTimes India.
"However, we are investigating all angles," he added.
