New Delhi: In a report to Home Ministry, the Delhi Police has not pointed out any pattern in repeated attacks at churches in the capital.
The report has called the latest incident at St Alphonsa Church as a "stray case". The report added that 265 temples have seen thefts in the last one year as well.
A Home Ministry official said ET, "The report does not point to any pattern or link between all these incidents and the present incident is described as a stray case of theft. When Delhi Police was asked why churches were being targeted repeatedly in the capital, the police reasoned orally with us that 265 temples have also seen thefts in Delhi in the last one year but the same has not been highlighted in the media".
The Home Ministry has questioned Delhi police on why arrests have not been made in all earlier four cases at different Churches. It has also asked Delhi police to catch culprits as soon as possible.
"A Special Investigation Team was formed after the arson case in a Dilshad Garden church in December. We have sought what has been the progress in that matter too," the ministry official said.
The city, where single phase polling will be held on February 7, has witnessed five such attacks on Churches in last two months.
The MHA twice has asked Delhi Police for a report on such incidents and directed police to install CCTV cameras inside and around all religious places. So far, the city police managed to crack only one case out of five and that because of the attackers were caught on tape.
On Monday (February 2), a church in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj area was vandalised. Members of St Alphonsa's church said that unidentified people jumped in from the main gate wall and broke opened the main gate of the church. Police said that prayer items kept in the church were thrown around and some other things were also broken.
Christians are the minority in Delhi, which has a population of 17 million. They represent just 2 percent of India's population of 1.2 billion.
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