The Trinity Church in Ramanathapuram of Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu, situated inside the Trinity Matriculation Higher Secondary School campus, was vandalised by two miscreants on Sunday, January 23 night. The visuals of the church after the attack show that a statue has been damaged and the glass around it has been shattered after the miscreants reportedly pelted stones. The police have lodged an FIR based on the complaint filed by one of the priests of the church and no arrests have been made so far in the case. 

According to the complaint filed by Bastin Joseph, the Assistant Father of the Trinity Church, the incident took place between 10 pm and 11:45 pm on Sunday night. The men reportedly came on a two-wheeler. One of them climbed the gate of the church and entered the premises before damaging the statue of Sebasthiyar inside the campus. They both reportedly escaped after the incident. The watchman of the church named Johnson witnessed the incident and informed the complainant, according to the copy of the complaint. 

A case against unknown miscreants has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 295 (Destruction, damage, or defilement of a place of worship or an object held sacred, with intent to insult the religion of a class of persons), 427 (Mischief causing damage), 448 (Punishment for house-trespass).

Speaking to TNM, the Special Sub-Inspector (SSI) of police P Murugasamy said that no arrests have been made so far. “There were CCTV cameras in the school and church but when we saw the footage, we could not see anything clearly. So we are asking people nearby for any footage captured in cameras installed in other buildings,” Murugasamy said. 

The incident comes just days after right-wing organisations and the BJP in Tamil Nadu alleged forced religious conversions in Christian schools.