60 held for church attack in Varanasi

Lucknow: Sixty persons have been booked for breaking into a church in Varanasi and creating ruckus earlier this week. Action was initiated after Bishop Peter Baldev wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking action against those involved.

Sixty persons have been booked for breaking into a church in Varanasi and creating ruckus.

The incident took place earlier this week at the Saint Thomas Church and action was initiated after Bishop Peter Baldev wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking action against the guilty.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Bishop Baldev urged him to ensure action against those who indulge in violence in religious places and vitiate the peaceful atmosphere.

The Bishop said that activists who claimed to belong to a fringe group, barged into the church and vandalised it , accusing the pastor of converting Hindus to Christianity.

Station house officer of the Dashashwamedh Police Station, B. K. Shukla, said that “Nearly 60 unidentified men have been booked for creating ruckus at the church, breaking the lock of the entry gate and also for threatening the members there. We are trying to confirm the identity of the attackers and they will be arrested soon”.

In another incident, activists of the same fringe outfit allegedly beat up a man in Orderly Bazar area of Varanasi, accusing the elderly of converting members of a Hindu family to Christianity on Thursday.

A case has been filed and the matter is being probed, senior officials said.