Church set fire in Karnataka

An angry mob of people attacked a Church in Bada village in Karnataka’s Davangere district on Sunday.

Police said the mob comprising of more than 200 people broke the asbestos ceiling of the Church, besides shattering the windowpanes and setting fire to the material inside the premises.

Though no religious outfit has claimed responsibility for the incident, Hindu Jagarana Vedike has threatened to close down these “unauthorized places, which have become centers for conversion”.

Pastor Lukas of the Christian prayer hall, who was at the site of attack, described the attackers as “locals”, but refused to name them.

Police said the locals had accused the Protestant prayer congregation of “converting the locals” by luring them with gifts and by “demeaning Hindu gods and religious customs”. A total of ten people have been arrested in the connection with the attack.

The attack on the Church in Bada village came even as the authorities had imposed prohibitory orders within a radius of 200 metres of three other prayer halls in Davangere, which had been attacked by Hindu outfits over the last two weeks.