In a village near Kanpur, they raised saffron flags and defaced the walls of a building adjacent to a Christian school that promotes initiatives for people of all faiths. They accused them of building a church without permission. The Bishop of Lucknow: “Who authorizes you to establish what is legal and what is not?”
Allahabad () – In the Catholic diocese of Allahabad – in the village of Shahzadpur, near Kanpur – a multipurpose hall is under construction, which promotes initiatives for people of all faiths in favor of social welfare, education and emancipation activities for the population, was torn apart by radical Hindu elements. What aroused his anger was that the building had a cross and was used as a prayer room for the tiny Catholic community.
Claiming it was a church that did not have a building permit, the extremists flew saffron flags at the site, defaced the walls with inscriptions praising Hindu deities and damaged surveillance cameras and statues there.
The hall was to be built next to St Mary’s School, which offers selfless service through quality education to people of all faiths, including the most vulnerable. All building permits had already been filed and were being vetted. A complaint was filed with the police against representatives of Hindutva organizations, including the Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad. The head of Akbarpur Police Station, Satish Kumar Singh, stated that the protesters also misbehaved with government officials when they tried to talk them out of taking justice into their own hands.
In an interview with , Lucknow Bishop Gerald Mathias commented: “Even if the necessary permits are missing, who authorizes the Bajrang Dal or any other group to destroy illegal structures? These groups behave as if they are above the law. Like the administration in the Power does not stop them, they feel stronger. The police must take action against these vandals so that they do not continue repeating these crimes.”
