Vandals strike school chapel, PM Modi steps in, summons top cop
14 Feb 2015 12:28 AM GMT
Modi also expressed his “deep concern and anguish” over the increasing number of such incidents in the Capital, in which churches and Christian institutions are being singularly targeted. This was the sixth incident, where a Christian institute has been attacked in the national Capital within the past three months.
In Friday’s incident, Holy Child Auxilium, a school located in the A-Block of South Delhi’s Vasant Vihar was on target. Around 6.30 am, the school staff reportedly discovered that the door of the principal’s office on the ground floor had been broken into. The room was found in a mess with all drawers open and files left astray. The CCTV camera near the principal’s office had also been broken, while the wires to other cameras were snapped apart, said a staff member.
The principal later told media persons that it was a case of theft and Rs 12,000 was missing from his office, adding that it was not a case of vandalism as religious articles were left unscathed.
Students who went to school in the morning were not allowed to enter the premises, except the 12th standard girls, who were to appear in an internal examination preceding the boards in March.
Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani is also an alumnus of the school. She rushed there at around 11 am immediately after she got to know about the incident and assured fair and speedy investigation of the case.
According to a source, the room adjacent to the principal’s office was also reportedly found ransacked, with a glass window smashed. “Had it been a case of theft, the accused would have taken expensive articles from both the rooms,” said the source.
In a brief CCTV footage captured by one of the cameras before being disconnected, two men were seen making their way to the principal’s office around 5.30 am – one of them had his face covered with a white cloth; the other had a white hard board over his head.
Speaking to the Millennium Post, spokesperson of Delhi Catholic Archdiocese Savarimuthu Sankar said: “We welcome the initiative taken by the PM over the security of religious institutes. We are really concerned and want the government to take adequate measures.”
Delhi Archbishop Anil JT Couto also condemned the incident and said that it reflects badly upon the Delhi police and the Home Ministry.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien tweeted: “Holy Child School run by Catholic nuns in Delhi... Attacked. Vandalised...Please. Give peace a chance.”
In Friday’s incident, Holy Child Auxilium, a school located in the A-Block of South Delhi’s Vasant Vihar was on target. Around 6.30 am, the school staff reportedly discovered that the door of the principal’s office on the ground floor had been broken into. The room was found in a mess with all drawers open and files left astray. The CCTV camera near the principal’s office had also been broken, while the wires to other cameras were snapped apart, said a staff member.
The principal later told media persons that it was a case of theft and Rs 12,000 was missing from his office, adding that it was not a case of vandalism as religious articles were left unscathed.
Students who went to school in the morning were not allowed to enter the premises, except the 12th standard girls, who were to appear in an internal examination preceding the boards in March.
Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani is also an alumnus of the school. She rushed there at around 11 am immediately after she got to know about the incident and assured fair and speedy investigation of the case.
According to a source, the room adjacent to the principal’s office was also reportedly found ransacked, with a glass window smashed. “Had it been a case of theft, the accused would have taken expensive articles from both the rooms,” said the source.
In a brief CCTV footage captured by one of the cameras before being disconnected, two men were seen making their way to the principal’s office around 5.30 am – one of them had his face covered with a white cloth; the other had a white hard board over his head.
Speaking to the Millennium Post, spokesperson of Delhi Catholic Archdiocese Savarimuthu Sankar said: “We welcome the initiative taken by the PM over the security of religious institutes. We are really concerned and want the government to take adequate measures.”
Delhi Archbishop Anil JT Couto also condemned the incident and said that it reflects badly upon the Delhi police and the Home Ministry.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien tweeted: “Holy Child School run by Catholic nuns in Delhi... Attacked. Vandalised...Please. Give peace a chance.”
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