Panaji: Two more crosses were found allegedly destroyed in Goa on July 13, about 10 days after a similar desecration was reported from the western Indian state with sizeable Catholic population.
The latest incident occurred at Loutolim village, some 40 km south of the Goa capital of Panaji.
Earlier desecration was at St. Jose de Areal and Gudi Paroda villages.
Locals in Loutolim discovered the latest vandalism, police told reporters.
A bread seller who passed by the spot around 4 am claimed everything was normal at the time. The two crosses were located at a distance of around 3 km from each other. An inquiry is on.
Goa has witnessed a spate of attacks on religious symbols since early July.
At least 11 holy crosses and a temple have been vandalized by unidentified persons in South Goa district.
Several gravestones were also allegedly damaged at Curchorem town in South Goa on July 9 night.
The opposition Congress has demanded that the investigation into the incidents be handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation.
However, Vijai Sardesai, the leader of Goa Forward Party, which is one of the alliance partners in the BJP-led state government, had said that the local police was capable of investigating the cases.
In view of the incidents of defiling the religious symbols, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had last week held a high a high-level meeting with police officials.
Parrikar asked all police stations in the state to form special investigation teams to nab the accused at the earliest.
The Goa Church expressed “deep pain” over the incidents, saying it appeared the desecrations were being carried out to provoke communal discord in the state.