India Christians protest over church fire
The fire destroyed much of the building, including its
prayer hall, altar and all statues
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Hundreds of Christians have
protested in the Indian capital after a Catholic church was burnt badly in a
fire.
Officials of St Sebastian's Church
located in the Dilshad Garden area in east Delhi said they suspected the church
was a target of arson.
The fire on Monday morning destroyed
much of the building, including its prayer hall, altar and all statues.
Delhi archbishop Anil Couto has
appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an inquiry into the fire.
On Monday evening, protesters held a
candle light vigil and on Tuesday morning, some 200 members of various churches
blocked traffic outside the church.
They shouted slogans and demanded a
judicial inquiry into the incident.
"Samples were retrieved from
the inside of the church, which still smelt of fuel oil. Till late Monday
evening, the police could not say they had made any progress in their
investigations,'' the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese said in a press release.
"The Christian community... and
civil society have decided to protest at the offices of the police
commissioner... to focus attention on the attempts to polarise the people in
Delhi state, which goes to the polls soon, and the continued persecution of Christians
in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and other tribal and rural areas,'' the release
added.
The police initially blamed the fire
on faulty wiring saying it was caused by a "short-circuit", but after
protests by Christian community, they registered a case against unnamed people.
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