Police detained dozens of people Thursday who were protesting against recent attacks on churches in the Indian capital and who accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of inaction to prevent or investigate the incidents.
Police said the protesters were detained as they marched toward the residence of Home Minister Rajnath Singh in a high-security area where protests are banned.
“The protesters have no permission to protest on the road. They can’t just march to the home minister’s residence. We have to protect the homes of VIPs,” a senior police officer, Mukesh Kumar Meena, told New Delhi Television network.
Carrying placards that read “Enough is Enough, What are police doing?” the protesters assembled outside the city’s main Sacred Heart Church in central New Delhi.
The protesters blame the attacks on Hindu hardliners.
Police say they have provided security to all 225 churches in the Indian capital.
The protest comes after a mysterious fire gutted a church in New Delhi and several other incidents of vandalism at churches across the city.
On Monday, a church was vandalised in New Delhi when unidentified people broke in and desecrated holy objects kept in the church, the fifth such attack on a Christian church since December.
