Tumakuru: Thousands of Christians, including religious leaders, on July 18 staged a silent protest in Tumakuru city in Karnataka state to condemn a recent attack on a local church.

They urged the southern Indian state government to arrest the culprit and to provide protection to their community.

The march was taken out from Bishop Sargent School to Tomlinson Church that was attacked with petrol bomb on July 14.

Head of Church of South India (CSI) of Central Zone, Samuel B. Pujari said no such incident has occurred in the 200-year-old history of the Church in the area.

Educational institutions in the district coming under CSI were closed as part of the protest, The Hindu reported.

Members of CSI and Catholics from neighboring towns joined the march. They submitted a memorandum to the Additional Deputy Commissioner.
Unidentified miscreants attacked the church, setting the door on fire.

Police said the miscreants poured petrol on the main door of Tomlinson Church in Siragate and set it ablaze. However, the blaze did not spread beyond the door

The church recently celebrated its 86th anniversary.

Tumkur town, officially known as Tumakuru, is the headquarters of the Tumakuru district in southern Karnataka.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Chidanandaswamy said the attack took place at 4:10 am and was caught on CCTV cameras. The CCTV footage the incident showed a masked man walking up to church door and throwing a lit bottle at it. He then went on to throw two other blazing bottles at the door before walking away.

A church attendant who had awoken to answer nature’s call spotted the fire at 4:20 a.m. called people from surrounding areas, who came and doused the fire. It was around that time that the policemen were also called.

Chidanandaswamy also said there had been some tension in the area, but did not confirm if that was the reason behind the attack. “There had been some effort to rename the road in front of the church after the church itself. However, the locals had opposed the move,” he added.

“However, we are investigating all angles,” he added.