Coimbatore: Trinity Church, located within the premises of a reputed educational institution in Coimbatore’s Ramanathapuram locality in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, came under attack from miscreants who also vandalised a statue of Saint Sebastian on Sunday.
The incident took place after 11 pm on Sunday at the Trinity Church in Ramanathapuram locality in Coimbatore city, police said, adding that an FIR has been registered against two unknown persons under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Police said two unidentified men came on a motorcycle to the church premises on Sunday night and entered the church forcibly. “One of them climbed on the door and entered inside the church and damaged Saint Sebastian statue. Both of them escaped in in their motorcycle,” police said.
Police said efforts are on to nab the culprits and that action has been initiated based on a complaint filed by Fr. Bastin Joseph, who works as Assistant Church Father. The attack on the church comes amid a row over forced conversion in Tamil Nadu.
According to the church administration, the incident happened around 10 p.m. Two men came to the entrance of the church on a two-wheeler and one of them scaled the gate. The intruder broke the glass plane of the shrine in the church compound with a brick and then vandalised the statue.
The duo managed to escape before the security guard could secure them. The security guard alerted the priests of the church who in turn informed the Ramanathapuram police.
The police registered a case against two unidentified men based on the complaint lodged by Fr. Bastin Joseph, assistant vicar of the church.
Though the church is situated at the busy Ramanathapuram junction in the city, there was minimal movement of vehicles and people due to the total lockdown that was in place on Sunday.
The police said that they have collected a few surveillance camera visuals from the spot and were on the lookout for the two men.
The Holy Trinity Church functions under the Ramanathapuram eparchy of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, which is based in Kerala.