Church fire: Protesters block roads leading to police headquarters at ITO

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Dec 03, 2014: More than a 1,000 of Delhi’s Christians and their supporters blocked the main access to the police headquarters during rush hour on Tuesday morning, demanding action against the alleged “culprits” behind Monday’s church fire.

The sit-in blocked traffic on the key road leading to East Delhi for nearly three hours.

The burning of the St Sebastian Catholic Church in Dilshad Garden on Monday morning has rattled the city’s Catholic community, right up to the Archbishop of Delhi, Anil Couto, who has called it “arson”. The police, however, have not confirmed it as a wilful act and all angles, including a short-circuit, are being probed.

Protesters from Delhi and NCR converged on the police headquarters at ITO following a message spread through mobile phones and community meetings held in different parishes on Monday. The protest was peaceful.

By 10 am, about a 1,000 people had completely taken over the stretch outside the police building. Holding placards, they chanted slogans and sang songs. “Church Burning = Nation Burning” read one placard. “We know we are a minority but don’t treat us like one,” read another.

“There has been a spate of attacks on our places of worship and on us in different parts of the country. However, the burning of our parish’s church is a big blow. We had to come out and protest or else atrocities against us minorities is never going to stop,” Ayushi Minj, 20, a protester from Dilshad Garden, said.

A traffic police officer said, “The sit-in caused a snarl at the ITO for over two hours at the peak time. Vikas Marg was closed and traffic was diverted to Outer Ring Road and DDU Marg. Traffic normalised only after the protesters dispersed around 12.30 pm.”

Police kept the gates of its headquarters tightly barricaded against the protesters. Archbishop Couto and some high priests were allowed in to meet police chief B S Bassi. The Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra came out and addressed the gathering.

“We understand you are aggrieved and we are doing everything in our power. We assure you of a thorough investigation into the matter,” he said.

Couto later informed the gathering that police had agreed to most of their demands, including a department probe into delay in action after the fire and in setting up a special investigation team to probe the matter.

The crowds dispersed only after they were told that the Archbishop’s delegation was going to submit their demands to Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung.

Govt to set up SIT, may rebuild church

Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung on Tuesday announced that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a Joint Commissioner will be set up to probe the fire in St Sebastian’s Church in Dilshad Garden, Northeast Delhi.

Meanwhile, police said the case would be transferred to the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police and would be investigated under Joint Commissioner Ravinder Yadav. Police said they were still awaiting reports from the Fire and the Forensic departments.

A delegation led by the Delhi Archbishop met the commissioner on Tuesday. Earlier, the delegation had forwarded a memorandum listing a set of demands — including a judicial probe into the fire — to the Home Minister and the Prime Minister.

Addressing protesters at ITO , Dr John Dayal, former national president of All India Catholic Union, said, “Police have promised us that they will write to the L-G about notifying the Public Works Department for the reconstruction of St Sebastian Church.”
Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra said, “Police will be keeping extra vigil over churches across the city, especially till Christmas.”

Father Mathew Koyickal, Chancellor (Archdiocese of Delhi), said, “The fire broke out around 6 am on Monday, but local police reached three hours later. Secondly, police were saying it was an accident. But the strong stench of kerosene at the church points to arson. Thirdly, the forensics teams reached the church around 5 pm. This is why we are so angry.”

Oppn chorus in Lok Sabha: Fire was planned

The fire that destroyed a church in Northeast Delhi found mention in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, with ministers condemning the incident. While the Opposition claimed that the fire was “planned” with “an intention to make it a communal issue”, the government assured that the incident would be thoroughly probed.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, P Karunakaran (CPI-M) alleged that police reached the spot several hours after fire broke out in the wee hours of Monday. Maintaining that the church and its exhibits were completely damaged and burnt down, he claimed it was “a planned attempt and not an accident”. “The intention is to turn it into a sensitive communal issue,” he said.

Members of various Opposition parties, including the Congress, joined Karunakaran in condemning the incident. The CPI-M leader said several MPs had gone to the spot on Monday and spoken to the people there.

Speaking of the incident, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said it was “very serious”. “The incident is condemnable…,” he said. Naidu said he would urge Home Minister Rajnath Singh to order a probe and inform the House.

 

Courtesy: Indianexpress