By TCN News,
New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports that a church in Vikaspuri area of Delhi was vandalised on January 14. It also took note of four other reported incidents of attacks and suspected arson at Christian religious institutions that had happened at Dilshad Garden, Rohini and Jasola areas of Delhi since December 1, 2014.
Christian representatives have called it as a ‘too little, too late’ step.
“The Commission has observed that these frequent attacks on the religious institutions of the minority community, if true, may violate the fundamental Right to Freedom of Religion and cause immense harm to the social fabric. The culprits involved in these incidents should be brought to book,” a release from the Information and Public Relations Officer at the NHRC said on Tuesday.
The NHRC has issued a notice to the chief secretary of the government of NCT of Delhi calling for a report on these incidents within four weeks. The CS has also been directed to send a report about the action proposed to be taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the National Capital, the release added.
“This (the NHRC notice) doesn’t make much sense. The police should have done this in last one month, but they didn’t. NHRC taking suo moto notice is too little too late. There is no guarantee that there will be anything coming out of it,” Joseph Dias, general secretary of the Catholic Secular Forum told TwoCircles.net.
Our Lady of Graces Church at Vikaspuri in west Delhi was vandalised on January 14. Before that, a minor fire was reported from a church in Rohini in northwest Delhi wherein the Christmas crib outside was charred. In December 2014, two similar incidents had occurred involving two different churches. Stones were thrown at and windowpanes were broken of the Our Lady of Fatima Forane Church at Jasola in southeast Delhi. Large portions of insides of the St Sebastian’s Church at Dilshad Garden in east Delhi were burnt down in what police confirmed later as a clear case of arson.
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