Amid the Anti Conversion Bill row in Karnataka, a church has been vandalized in Chikkaballapur district on early Thursday morning and the statue of St Anthony was broken.
Talking to NDTV, the church’s priest, Father Joseph Anthony Daniel said that the 160-year-old St Joseph’s Church in Susaipalya was attacked around 5.30 am. The police have taken away the statute for further investigation and an FIR has been filed.
When a parishioner saw the damage at 5.40 am, he immediately called Father Joseph, who came to the spot. The priest has filed a complaint with the police, saying this kind of vandalism had never happened before.
In the past weeks, there have been reports of disturbances in Christian prayer congregations in several parts of Karnataka. A new Anti-Conversion bill ‘Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill’ has also been introduced in the ongoing Winter session of the state assembly in Belagavi.
According to the government, this bill is aimed at preventing forced conversions. However, several lawyers, activists and civil society organizations have opposed the bill, saying it targets minorities in the state and is harsher than similar bills in other BJP-ruled states.
