Team Herald
ASSONORA: The statue of St Joseph Vaz was desecrated and the car of St Clara Church parish priest, Assonora, was damaged by an “unidentified mentally deranged” person on Friday early morning.
According to Mapusa police, the incident occurred on Friday morning at around 4 am and the same was informed to them by the locals. On reaching the spot, the police managed to arrest the person involved in the crime due to the timely intervention of the locals who gheraoed him.
Police said that in the incident, the statue of St Joseph Vaz was desecrated and the car of Parish Priest Fr Vincent Leitao was damaged. A house in the proximity was also attacked and the window panes were broken by the same person.
The parish priest informed that he came to know about the incident in the morning at 6.30 when he went for mass. “The statue of St Joseph Vaz and my car have been damaged in the incident. The person involved in this crime was gheraoed by six people who handed him over to the police. Investigation is underway but the motive was to destroy and damage,” Fr Vincent said.
The investigating officer revealed that the person who perpetrated the attack was mentally ill and not a Goan.
“The person arrested in this incident has been referred to IPHB at Bambolim. He was unable to reveal his name, address or any other details about himself. During examination nothing was found in his possession. Finger print and dog squad was used to gather evidence from the crime spot,” the investigating officer informed.
Police have arrested him under Sections 295,447 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code.
Meanwhile, Thivim MLA Nilkant Harlankar informed that the vandalization of a religious place was the first incident in his constituency.
“The person arrested by the police is either mentally unsound or instigated to take up the attack. Thivim has been known for communal harmony but after this incident we need to take the necessary precautions and something like this does not repeat in the future,” Harlankar said.
Goa has witnessed several attacks on religious symbols, especially of the Christian community, over the last two years. This is not the first incident where a religious place has been attacked by a mentally deranged person.
