A statue of Jesus and Mary was allegedly vandalised last night in the Tarn Taran region of Punjab by a gang of persons who apparently forced their way inside a local church. They also set the pastor’s automobile on fire. Images from the scene show the burning automobile and a damaged statue inside the church.
A person in red headgear is seen repeatedly hammering the idol with an axe, decapitating it, and setting the head on the ground in CCTV footage from the church. At one point, they even appear to conceal behind the statue, probably in an effort to stay undetected.
The incident occurs on a day when the Akal Takht Jathedar, leader of the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, released a statement opposing “forced conversions” by Christian missionaries.
The incident is being seen as a result of this claim; Sikh leaders have been outspoken in their opposition to suspected attempts at conversion by Christian missionaries in the region. Being a border state, Giani Harpreet Singh urged the Centre to “quickly manage it” after revealing that foreign financing was being used to support these religious initiatives in Punjab.
The incident happened in the Tarn Taran district’s Thakarpur village, which is in the Patti assembly seat.
