Madhya Pradesh church set afire ahead of polls

Unidentified miscreants set fire to a Church in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday.

The incident came to light when some nuns saw smoke bilowing out from the Little Flower Church in Tikamgarh district.

Christians meanwhile suspect Hindu political groups behind the incident, vying for success ahead the November assembly polls.

"It appears the church was set on fire early in the morning after pouring kerosene or some other inflammable substance," a police official said.

"We have ordered a high level enquiry to probe the matter and also identified all the churches in the district for the purpose of providing security," Sushanti Saxena, Tikamgarh police superintendent told IANS.

District collector KP Rahi visited the site and reviewed the security of the church.

Father Anand Muttungal, spokesperson of the Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh reacted sternly to the incident demanding "protection for Christians" and action against the culprits.

He accused the government for its inaction in several such cases in the past, which has brought an increase of violence on Christians.

During the present Bharatiya Janata Party government, he said, more than 171 attacks on church personnel, institutions, Christian places of worship and community members have taken place.

The Isai Mahasangh in the state has also requested for government protection to Christians. "It is an attempt to terrorise the community ahead of the state assembly polls," alleged its president Kurishinkal Joshi.