SURAT, Jan 31: Unidentified persons broke into the Salem Marthoma Church off Ghod Dod Road in the early hours of Sunday and damaged the grills, cupboards and an electronic organ. While the police described it as a ``house-break'', some quarters pointed out that it could be an attempt to bring the unrest of the tribal areas to the city.The police, however, ruled out any communal angle to the incident. However, nothing appears to have been stolen from the church, though some cupboards and the organ were damaged. The police estimated the loss to be worth around Rs 50,000.
No religious symbol or books were disturbed. While the Sunday morning service could not be held, the evening service proceeded without incident.
The break-in was discovered this morning, when devotees gathered at the church. They immediately went to the Umra police station, where church pastor Taddil George Varghese lodged a complaint.
Subsequently, a team of Umra police, led by PI S M Rajput visited the spot and registered a complaint of housebreaking, theft and mischief under Sections 380, 457 and 427 of the IPC.
Varghese told Express Newsline that the church watchman had been on duty on Saturday night and that his duty hours had been incident-free. The police, however, have said in the FIR that the house-break occurred between January 24 and January 31.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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