Navi Mumbai church attack: Cops still hunting for leads

Police investigating Saturday’s attack on a church in New Panvel area are grilling some suspects, but are yet to get concrete leads.

There are no eyewitnesses to the incident and the scanning of CCTV footage has also not thrown up any substantial leads to identity the attackers, police said.

According to Khandeshwar police, the attack was carried out by two masked persons who were riding pillion on a motorcycle at around 1.30 am on Saturday when they hurled stones at the Saint George Catholic church located near a bridge in New Panvel.

In the incident, the covering glass outside the statue of Saint George got damaged.

The trio, comprising the biker and the two pillion riders, had their faces covered, a police official said.

“We are questioning several people on grounds of suspicion of their involvement in the crime. However, we are yet to lay our hands on concrete clues,” Assistant Police Commissioner S B Suryavanshi said.

Asked about clues from the CCTV footage, he said, “The attackers covered their faces. There is nothing much to get from the CCTV.”

However, offences have been registered against the unidentified men under sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 427 (mischief) of the Indian Penal Code, police said.

With no eyewitnesses, the investigators are struggling to identify the perpetrators of the crime, sources said.

The church was built in 2007 and can accommodate over 800 people for prayer.

Meanwhile, security has been stepped up at places of worship in the area, police added.