The Canterbury St Augustine Catholic Church located in Tongi, Dhaka was ransacked and its parish priest was beaten and threatened with death if he refused to hand over money and other valuables to his attackers. At least five robbers were involved, three of them masked. The priest Fr Chanchal Hubert Pereira said he heard noises from outside. The criminals then opened a window and pointed a gun at him. They said they would kill him if he did not open the door. He was forced to let them in.
As reported by asianews, Fr Chanchal Hubert Pereira explained that “To save my life I had to give them money, about 35,000 takas (US$ 420), my mobile phone, and laptop computer”. Bejoy Costa, the cook, said, “When I entered the Father’s room, I found him in tears and tied up.”
Several local residents, Muslims and Christians, condemned the incident. Helel Uddin, head of the local police, visited the church and said that the authorities “will investigate the incident and hopefully arrest the robbers very soon.”
Source: www.asianews.it
