Bengaluru: Authorities have demolished the image of Jesus and fourteen crosses in Bengaluru under pressure from extremist Hindutva groups. Authorities have smashed a 20-year-old, 12-foot-tall Jesus statue and stone crosses, located in the Mahima Beta of Doddasagarahalli Village in Devanahalli Taluk, about 50 km from the city of Bengaluru. It was situated in a four and a half-acre area where the Karnataka government gave away free of charge to the Christians for worship and burial.
Catholic priests of the Archdiocese of Bengaluru led the liturgy and prayed the liturgy during the Easter Lent. However, activists of Bajrang Dal and Hindu Raksha Vedi have come out against Christians in the village alleging that the clergy are converting the locals. They staged a protest demanding that the shrine be built illegally and that the image of Jesus is demolished. Officials then removed the statue and the cross without warning.
However, the leadership of St. Joseph’s Church, which includes a cemetery and a prayer center, has denied the allegations of Hindutva groups. Six years ago, the Malayali clergyman Fr. Matthew said in the basket. It is not true that people have been converted. The locals are always cooperating with us. They never interfere in our religious affairs. So the protesters are thought to be from outside the area. Officials did not allow them to go when the figures and crosses were dismantled. He said they had destroyed everything they had built over the years.
They don’t want to fight anyone. So it is up to the state government to allow the activities to continue. Fr Devanahalli Tahsildar Ajit Kumar Rai, who led the demolition, was contacted on the phone but did not respond. Mathew added to the castle. Bengaluru Archbishop Peter Machado said the act of demolishing the statues and crosses was a violation of communal harmony and a violation of the religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution of India.
