Mumbai: Graves vandalised at St Michael’s Church in Mahim

Eighteen tombstones and crosses were vandalised at a cemetery attached to St Michaelrsquos Church Mahim early on Saturday morning enraging the Catholic community The incident comes close on the heels of a notice being issued by the BMC to demolish a part of St Peterrsquos Seaside cemetery for a road widening project in Bandra WestThe accused was captured on the CCTV cameras of the church According to church authorities the accused who appears to be in his 30s had attended the 6 am mass at the church As soon as the prayer service began he left the church and went straight to the cemetery where he desecrated the crosses and tombstones He fled soon afterSpeaking with midday Fr Bernard Lancy Pinto parish priest of St Michaelrsquos Church said ldquoThe incident is sad and shocking We have registered an FIR at the Mahim police station and investigations have begun The police have assured us that they will arrest the person concerned and take appropriate legal action Investigation is also being conducted to check for any security lapse We hope and pray that the situation is resolved at the earliestrdquoThe accused captured on CCTV camera during the prayer serviceAccording to Fr Pinto based on the footage retrieved from the CCTV cameras it appears that the accused didnrsquot have any intention to commit a theft ldquoHe only wanted to demolish the crosses We want to know why he committed this crime It has hurt the religious sentiment of all Catholics This is not acceptable and the police should arrest him as soon as possiblerdquo said the priestAlso Read Mumbai BMC withdraws Bandra cemetery demolition noticeThe Bombay Catholic Sabha has condemned the incident and demanded strict police action ldquoWe urge full protection to our churches and graveyards in Mumbairdquo said Dolphy DrsquoSouza president of the organisationClyde Crasto national spokesperson of the NCP said the vandalism ldquoseems like a deliberate attempt to pressurise and disturb the peaceloving Catholic community in Mumbairdquo ldquoThat this incident has happened immediately after the temporary withdrawal of land acquisition notice to St Peterrsquos Church Bandra raises many doubts The CM and deputy CM of Maharashtra and the Mumbai Police must take immediate cognisance of this issuerdquoSimilar sentiments were echoed by Godfrey Pimenta trustee of Watchdog Foundation NGO ldquoDespite the city having two police commissioners nobody has been arrested yet We suspect political involvement Symbols of Christianity are being attacked time and again In the past we have made a number of appeals to the Mumbai Police to increase the patrolling in and around religious sites We repeat and reiterate our demand that the state government install CCTV cameras at all places of worship on priorityrdquoWhen contacted Senior Inspector Pravin Kadam of Mahim police station said ldquoWe have registered an FIR against unknown persons Search is on for the accusedrdquoNot the first timeDecember 15 2013 Residents of Vile Parle West noticed that a Holy Cross situated at LIC Building Compound was vandalised by some unknown miscreantsJuly 14 2014 The same cross was vandalised againSeptember 4 2016 A cross in Juhu was found desecrated Locals also reported a case of gold theft at Juhu Koliwadarsquos Mother Mary statueJanuary 27 2017 A cross on Carter Road Bandra West was found damagedApril 12 2017 A cross was damaged at Gaothan Lane in Santa Cruz WestMarch 5 2018 A cross was found broken near Indu Mills Dadar West