New Delhi: In a shocking incident, East Delhi's popular Church St Sebastian was engulfed in flames on Monday, prompting allegations of foul play by the Christian community.
Police have registered an FIR against unknown persons under section 436 (mischief by fire with intent to destroy house) of IPC.
The fire started in the early hours of Monday morning and the church was reduced to ashes including the altar, the Holy Bible, Cross and all images and statues.
Delhi Archbishop Anil Couto has in a memorandum to PM Narendra Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh demanded a judicial inquiry into the incidentHe also alleged that the police took a long time to react to the fire and were late in sending officers and forensic units to collect evidence.
Archbishop Couto, in his memorandum, demanded that the government must repair the building before Christmas, ensure that policemen guilty of dereliction of duty are punished and that special police investigation teams are set up to trace the guilty.
The fire department said they received a call at 7.26am. Four fire tenders dispatched, which took less than five minutes to reach the spot, officials said. "On arrival, we saw the whole place burning furiously. It took us 40 minutes to control the blaze," said a senior Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official.
The police officials haven't rules out foul play and are investigating the case thoroughly
The church is surrounded by religious sites. On one side lies Shri Varadha Ganesh Mandir, in front of which is a crematorium, and on its other end is an orthodox Syrian church.
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