Indian church burnt down in suspected arson

A church in Indian has been suspiciously set on fire as it was severely burnt down.

The cause of the fire which happened on Monday, December 1, at the Saint Sebastian’s Church which is one of the biggest churches in East Delhi, is yet to be known but the Catholic Church in Delhi has said that the fire incident is suspected arson. The church was active till Sunday night, before being burnt early Monday morning about 6.00 a.m.

"The entire interior, including the Altar, the Holy Bible and Cross were reduced to ashes," the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese said in a statement.

Hundreds of Indian Christians stormed the police headquarters in Delhi to protest the burning of the church as they suspect that it was deliberately torched and also protested the delay of the forensic teams at the scene.

“It is desecration of our religious place as well as our faith. The church has been damaged so badly that it needs to be rebuilt to be ready for prayers once again,” the parish priest Friar Anthony Francis said in a statement.

Friar Anthony Francis also pleaded with the protesters not to indulge in any sort of violence during the protests.

Hindu is the major religion in India although it is officially a secular nation. Christians comprise about 2.5 percent of the 1.2 billion person population.