Bengaluru: Amid anti-conversion bill row, a 160-year-old St Joseph's church in Karnataka's Chikkaballapur district was vandalised on Thursday, a report by NDTV said.
According to the report, a parishioner saw a broken statue of St Anthony and damage to the church at 5.40 am, after which he informed the priest of the church, Father Jospeh Anthony Daniel. Later, Father Joseph filed a complaint with the police.
The police came and away the statue for further investigation. A first information report, or FIR, has been filed.
Father Jospeh told NDTV that the church in Susaipalya, some 65 km from state capital Bengaluru, is believed to have been damaged around 5.30 this morning. He said this kind of vandalism had never happened before.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people from at least 40 socio-political organisations Wednesday took out a protest march in Bengaluru against the Karnataka Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, commonly known as the anti-conversion Bill. The march commenced from Mysore Bank Circle and ended at Freedom Park.
The Bill was introduced in the state Legislative Assembly Tuesday during the ongoing Winter Session in Belagavi. Home Minister Araga Jnanendra tabled the Bill while Congress leaders objected to the manner in which it was introduced. The Cabinet had cleared the Bill Monday but no official information was shared about introducing it in the House.
