Mangalore, November 4: A trouble monger stormed into St Alphonsa Catholic Church at Kankanady, here desecrating the statues of Jesus Christ and vandalizing the property, before being arrested by the police on Thursday night.
The miscreant has been identified as Shibu, from Jalligudde.
It is said that Shivu gained entry into the Church at around 9:00 pm, when there was no one inside the prayer hall as priests were having their supper. After breaking both hands of a two-foot tall statue of Jesus Christ, he also tried to break the leg of another five-foot tall statue.
It is learnt that there was no security guard posted at the Church's entrance gate during the incident.
On hearing the noise the priests and students staying at a hostel nearby rushed into the main hall of the Church to witness a disgusting scene. They immediately locked the gate to prevent the miscreant escaping from the scene and informed police, sources said.
An eye witness said that the miscreant was pretending to be mentally insane by undressing himself at the sacristy and wearing holy vestments of the priests.
A mild tension prevailed in the area for a brief period when a large crowd gathered near the Church. However, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control after arresting the miscreant.
Commissioner of Police Seemanth Kumar Singh and Deputy Commissioner of Police Mutthuraya also visited the spot and urged the people to maintain peace.
Assistant parish priest of the Church Fr Shibi lodged a complaint at the jurisdictional police station.
The arrested man is expected to be produced before a local court on Friday.
Meanwhile, religious, social and political leaders of Christian community have strongly condemned the incident and urged the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the issue.
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