Unknown miscreants vandalise Mother Mary statue in Kurla, spark outrage

A statue of Mother Mary was allegedly desecrated by unknown persons in suburban Kurla during the wee hours of Sunday, sparking an outrage among Christians in the area.

According to police, the grotto of Mother Mary installed on a roadside in Kurla was desecrated at around 4 am.

The incident led to tension in the area with the police trying to pacify angry locals.

The cops were also trying to obtain CCTV footage of the area. In one of the footage they have managed to get, three persons were purportedly seen moving on a bike near the site, police said.

The bikers have not been identified as they were wearing helmets. However, efforts were on to nab the culprits, they said.

Deputy commissioner of police, Zone V, Paramjit Singh said police personnel are on the spot and the situation is under control.

Reacting to the incident, social activist Nicholas Almeida said these kind of disturbances happen every now and then during election time. He has demanded strict action against the culprits.

Earlier, advocate Sunil Gonsalves told a leading daily that the police took two hours to register an FIR.

Following the incident, a group of locals put up signboards near the desecrated statue as a way of sending a message to the culprits.

The boards read – ‘Do not test our tolerance’ and ‘We are a gentle and peace-loving community but definitely not weak’.

Incidentally, this is not the first time a Christian symbol was vandalized in the city. Back in September, some unidentified persons had also vandalized a statue of Jesus Christ located opposite Hotel Sea Princess on Juhu Tara Road.

This report has been covered in a shortened or ‘Snippet’ format to ensure the most important piece of information is relayed in the shortest possible time. If the story develops further or more relevant information becomes available, we will expand it into a full length article.