Mumbai: Masked Men Hurl Stones at Church; FIR Lodged

The Mumbai police have registered an FIR against unknown persons for hurling stones at St George Catholic Church in New Panvel's Khandeshwar area in Navi Mumbai early on Saturday morning.

However, no arrest has been made yet as the Khandeshwar police are still trying to identify the men who attacked the church. They have been checking the CCTV footage in which the entire incident has been captured.

"The miscreants had thrown stones at the church entrance from the roadside and later fled from there. A case has been registered at the Khandeshwar police station for further investigation," The Times of India quoted Assistant Commissioner of Police SB Suryavanshi as saying.

According to witnesses, the incident occurred at 1:30am on Saturday when three masked men arrived on a motorbike and attacked the statue of St George.

While condemning the attack, church leaders have reportedly claimed that the attack was a political mischief.

Abraham Mathai, President of Indian Christian Voice, said he is upset to see the government's inability to save the Christian community from repetitive attacks.

"I am shocked and saddened by today's incident as it reflects the inability of the government to protect the minorities. These communal goons are emboldened by the indifference of the government at the Centre and the state, and therefore continue perpetrating such heinous crimes with impunity," Mathai added.

In the last few months, several churches across the country have been targeted by miscreants. The attacks began with vandalism of a church in Delhi, followed by several other attacks.

Recently, an under-construction church in Haryana's Hisar district was attacked by some miscreants, while some unidentified men ransacked a church-cum-convent in West Bengal and gang-raped a 72-year-old nun.