Man held for vandalizing Marian statue in Mumbai
The accused was picked from his home in Bhandup near Anthony Church where the incident took place.
Mumbai (UCAN):
Police in the Bhandup suburb of Mumbai on Monday arrested a 21-year-old man for allegedly vandalizing a statue of Mother Mary and Infant Jesus.
Police said the accused, 21-year Paulraj Yauvan Nadar, attacked the statue around 1 am on Mondayunder the influence of alcohol. His brother Dinkaran, who allegedly also participated in the vandalism, is wanted in the case.
The accused was picked from his home in Bhandup near Anthony Church where the incident took place.
The police said the brothers had a verbal spat with the head priest at the church. The spat stemmed from a fight that the brothers were involved in with another local resident outside the church around a month ago.
“After they got intoxicated, the brothers created a ruckus outside the church and called for the priest. There was an intense verbal spat with the priest, after which Paulraj broke the glass of the statue out of rage with a pipe and injured his hand in the process,” said P R Chavan, senior police inspector, Bhandup police.
The police have charged the accused under sections 336 (endangering life or personal safety), 295 (hurting religious sentiments), 298 (uttering words, etc with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of a person), 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 34 (act done with common intention) under the Indian Penal Code.
Source: Indian Express
