BJP men' vandalise church in East Midnapore, 3 held

Kolkata: Three persons allegedly linked to the RSS and BJP were arrested on Monday for hurling bombs and vandalising a church with chants of "Jai Shri Ram" in East Midnapore district.

According to police reports, the incident took place at around 2 pm on Saturday, at a church in Bhagwanpur of East Midnapore district. Worshippers had come for their noon prayers at the church, when all of a sudden at least two bombs blew off outside the building.

As people fled in panic, a group of eight to ten miscreants stormed into the building and destroyed chairs, tables, window panes and microphones. They even damaged the pastor's car, before fleeing the area.

The incident came to light after the pastor Alok Ghosh filed a police complaint, naming the attackers who he claimed were BJP or RSS workers. A senior district police official also said that the accused were known to be local BJP workers. "They (the accused) didn't like Christian activities happening in there. So they attacked this place. They are known to be local BJP workers," he said.

The district BJP leadership has, however, reportedly denied any link with the church attack. Such attacks have been reported at churches across Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi in the past. However, this is the first such incident to occur in Bengal.