On 24th June, a group of nearly 80 people who are suspected to be the members of Hindu groups Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, also known as World Assembly of Hindus, ripped the tin sheet boundary wall and damaged the CCTV cameras at the site located in Shahzadpur village in Kanpur Dehat District present in Uttar Pradesh. Along with this, the mob raised slogans and installed flags in saffron color with a Slogan “Jai Shri Ram” inscribed in it.
A police complaint was registered against the members of ‘Hard-line Hindu Groups’ for rioting and damaging a Catholic school building’s property which was under-construction.
A Bishop from Allahabad, mentioned in a UCA news article that, “St. Mary’s School which is under-construction on a site at Shahzadpur village where a chapel is underway, a Hindu mob objected to the chapel and made damages at the site”.
A Bajrang Dal leader told Press Trust India (PTI) that, “a church was being built there without any permission and the local administration did not take any strict action”.
The police filed a case against 13 people, including Bajrang Dal’s district convenor Gaurav Shukla, and nearly 80 unidentified people, charging them for unlawful gathering, criminal conspiracy, rioting and damaging property, among other offenses.
PTI reported that ‘the mob has also been charged for hindering public servants on duty and voluntarily hurting’, the police told PTI.
Uttar Pradesh’s Hardline Hindu groups seem to be creating issues between different religious communities. They are demanding the demolition of the church and are looking forward to a large-scale protest.
