Mumbai: Cops hunt for man who wrecked grotto

The devotees who gathered on Friday to protest the incident

The Malad police are on the lookout for an unidentified man who vandalised the glass cover of the century-old grotto of Mother Mary opposite Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Orlem, early on Thursday morning.

An FIR has been registered under Section 95A of the Indian Penal Code (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class) against the unknown miscreant, who had thrown a stone and broken the glass.

The damaged grotto

Dolphy D'Souza, president, Bombay Catholic Sabha, and parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes Church reported the incident to the Malad police and demanded that the accused be arrested as soon as possible.

"Efforts are being made to target the Christian community and hurt our sentiments. We demand that they investigate who is trying to do this and what is their motive," D'Souza said.

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Andreena Putman, a devotee, said, "The incident comes close on the heels of the vandalisation of St Michael's Church graveyard at Mahim last month. The police had assured us that no such incident would happen anywhere in the city in the future."

A peaceful protest march in which more than 800 devotees participated was held on Friday. The protesters condemned the incident and demanded that no such incident should happen again.

An officer of Malad police station said, "The vandal was captured by a CCTV camera installed near the spot. The footage is not clear, due to which it is difficult to identify and trace him. Seeing the accused's gait and antics, he could be mentally handicapped."

He added, "So far we have checked hundreds of CCTV cameras' footage and what we know is the accused approached the church on foot from Meeth Chowki Junction on Link Road and after throwing stones, he headed towards Valnai Colony. We have checked every entry and exit point at Valnai. He can be seen entering but not exiting."

800
No of people who took part in protest