Sleuths are trying to crack how the Hebbagodi church attack took place so soon after the governor had spoken about minorities
Sleuths are trying to crack how the Hebbagodi church attack took place so soon after the governor had spoken about minorities
The police say vandals are responsible for last week's Hebbagodi church attack, but sleuths are investigating a curious political angle.
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Early last week, Governor H R Bharadwaj had written to the state government saying he had been receiving complaints of insecurity from minority communities.
Quick reply
The BJP government had been prompt to reply to the Bharadwaj's letter.
Law Minister S Suresh Kumar had replied, "Any person who has faith in the Constitution and also has knowledge about the factual position in Karnataka cannot agree with your statement that has appeared in the media".
The minister also said: "It is hurting to mention that your public utterance about the law and order situation in the State which is otherwise incident-free has baffled us."
But the attack took place even as Suresh Kumar's letter was being delivered.
Background
Armed vandals attacked Saint Francis De Sales Church in Hebbagodi, just a half-hour drive from Bangalore, on Thursday morning.
Armed with weapons, the attackers broke open the gate and damaged two statues of Mother Mary, a grotto and the cross outside. They smashed the windowpanes, police said.
Since the security guard was on leave on Wednesday night, a construction worker, Arul, was sleeping in the church compound. He said the two attackers assaulted him before locking him inside the guard room. They attacked the church at 2 am and left at about 2.30 am. They even attempted to burn down a Maruti van parked in front of the church.
Later, some neighbours heard the noise and came out to free Arul and informed the police. The priests of the church Father Aloysius and Father Selvaraj and several others rushed to the spot in the morning.
The damage is estimated at around Rs 2 lakh.
Followers of the church staged a protest near Hosur Road, leading to a four-hour traffic jam. They urged the police to take stringent action against the vandals and protect churches in the state. All churches had received security after the series of attacks a few months ago. But because the situation became peaceful, the security guards were withdrawn. But one guard remained at Hebbagodi, police said.
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