By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi, May 8, 2019: A police complaint from a church situated on New Delhi’s Parliament Street against some former employees has been settled, police said.
Madhur Verma, deputy commission of police in New Delhi, said the dispute was between the management of the Free Church and some ten families of former employees, who have their residential quarters inside the premises.
“The church management wants to close the gate which opens toward Jantar Mantar, citing security concerns, but those people residing there were objecting to it,” the police officer explained on May 7.
According to police, the matter was later resolved after a meeting was conducted between both the parties in the presence of the local Assistant Commissioner of Police.
The police, however, did not disclose how the matter was settled.
The Free Church is an iconic landmark in the heart of in the national capital.
Earlier in the day, a high-voltage drama was witnessed in the area as unidentified men apparently owing allegiance to Hindu outfits reportedly threatened to burn the church.
The tussle between the church management and the former employees started more than a decade ago.
The latest trouble started after the management asked the families to refrain from bringing their vehicles in the church campus.
The families, who the management says are illegal occupants, reportedly threatened Pastor Timothy Shaw of dire consequences. The pastor stays with his family in the parsonage on the church’s campus.
The church people allege the families have made a temporary temple and invited people from outside to worship purportedly to provoke religious confrontation.
The church management had earlier written to the President, the Prime Minister, the Delhi Chief Minister and the Delhi Police, alleging a threat from “illegal occupants.”
In the letter, the pastor claimed that the “illegal occupants,” who have been living in the area for years now, raised Hindutva slogans inside the premises.
The church said it has CCTV footage of incident that they handed over to Verma, the police official.
The church closed the gate opening to the Jantar Mantar side after the Delhi police asked church authorities in the national capital to take necessary precautions.
The advisory was issued after following the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka that killed more than 350 people,
The “illegal occupants” insisted on trying to enter from the main gate despite being asked to come from the back side.
In the letter, the church claimed that threatening dialogues were exchanged during the tussle and that they were living in fear.
In the letter, the church has demanded action against these occupants and also sought assurance of security from the police.
“We prohibited entry of their vehicle from the main gate of the campus. While several church members were present, the incumbents had no fear and attempted to break down the gate and incite violence within the church,” the letter stated.
The Delhi Police, meanwhile, tried to play down the issue.
“The management of the church is having a dispute with residents who live inside the campus since more than 10 years. The church management tried to close the gate which is on Jantar Mantar side and residents were opposing it,” said the police.