Police action on protesters at church: CPI (M) seeks SIT probe

CPI(M) today strongly condemned police action against demonstrators outside Sacred Heart Church here who were protesting attacks on churches in Delhi and favoured a probe by Special Investigation Team.
"The peaceful protest which included the participation of nuns and priests was forcibly dispersed by the police with lathis and all were arrested.
"The CPI(M) condemns the attitude of the Delhi police which is refusing to acknowledge that the vandalism on five churches in Delhi in the recent period is communally motivated and are hate crimes against a minority community," the party said in a statement.
It alleged that this reflects the stand of the BJP government at the Centre, under whom the law and order machinery functions in Delhi.

"The CPI(M) endorses the stand that a Special Investigation Team be set up to investigate these attacks so that the culprits can be brought to justice," it said.
Angry over a spate of "attacks" on churches, members of the Christian community had yesterday staged a major protest in the city ahead of Assembly polls, accusing the government of inaction and wondered why Prime Minister was "silent" on the issue.
Police detained over two hundred protesters from outside the Sacred Heart Cathedral in central Delhi when they tried to march towards the residence of Home Minister Rajnath Singh in a high-security area here.