A newly opened church in Delhi’s Dwarka was vandalised by Bajrang Dal activists while devotees were holding Sunday mass. One of the accused has been arrested.

An FIR has been registered against the assailants under sections of rioting.

“At least 30 people were holding Sunday mass at church. Meanwhile, Bajrang Dal members came and disrupted the proceedings. They vandalised the church’s entrance and signboard and. The Hindutva men even manhandled a few devotees attending the prayer,” a local said to Maktoob.

The assailants were more than 40, he said, requesting anonymity. They were shouting anti-Christian slogans while targeting the devotees. One person has been injured in the incident, he added.

Following the incident, a police team from Bindapur police station came to the spot.

A police officer told reporters that some Hindus had objected to the godown turning into a church, and raised concerns over conversion. The church was holding its first Sunday prayer.

An FIR has also been filed against those present in the church for violating DDMA guidelines related to COVID-19.

Two weeks ago, Hindutva activists had disrupted Sunday prayer services in Karnataka and Rajasthan alleging forced religious conversions that were denied by Christians.

Two Christian pastors were ruthlessly beaten by a Hindutva mob in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamteri district on 2 November. According to local reports, the assailants disrupted a prayer meeting, beat the two pastors, burned Bibles, and demanded the Christians stop holding worship services in Biler village.