During the night of Saturday and Sunday, two guys allegedly desecrated and vandalized a 5.5-foot tall statue of Jesus Christ at the old Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Ambala Cantonment.
The church is one of the oldest in the region, having been established in 1848 when the East India Company relocated its headquarters from Karnal to Ambala.
According to police, the males broke into the church after jumping the gates and vandalizing a statue near the entrance.
“The males entered the compound at 12:30 a.m. on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage at the scene, and the monument was destroyed by 1.40 a.m.,” said Naresh Kumar, in charge of Ambala Cantt police station.
Christmas celebrations had to finish early owing to the night curfew, according to Father Anthony of the church, and the gate was locked at 10:30 p.m.
The vandals vandalized the church’s interior ornamentation and also destroyed the glass case at the entrance, causing the holy statue of Jesus Christ to be damaged (Sacred Heart Statue). “This is Ambala’s oldest church, and nothing like this has ever happened before,” he told reporters.
“The subject is quite sensitive for the Christian community, and our religious sensibilities are greatly injured,” Father Patras Mundu wrote in his complaint. It’s evident from the CCTV tape that this was done on purpose.
Ambala has a sizable Christian community, and at least four major churches built during British control are still standing.
The remains of Bishop Ignatius Loyola Ivan Mascarenhas of the diocese of Simla-Chandigarh arrived at the church on Sunday evening for a special prayer service, following which the remains of the broken statue were retrieved in front of a big crowd.
Several police teams have already visited the crime scene, according to Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Pooja Dabla, to establish whether it is a miscreant activity or driven by religious emotions.
The FIR has cited Sections 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship to offend the religion of any class), 427 (mischief causing damage of fifty rupees), and 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault, or wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code as having been cited in the FIR.
In response to the event, Haryana home minister and local MLA Anil Vij told the media in Karnal that the case is being investigated by separate teams of CIA-1, CIA-2, and Cantt SHO, adding that the suspects will not be spared.
