2 held for vandalising Jesus statue in Ambala

Tribune News Service

Ambala, December 28

The CIA-1 unit of the Ambala police has arrested two accused who allegedly vandalised the statue of Jesus, installed at the entrance of the British Era Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Ambala Cantonment, on Tuesday.

The accused have been identified as Ravinder (27) and Sandeep Kumar (28) of Ambala Cantonment. They will be produced before a court on Wednesday. The accused were in an inebriated condition and the exact reason behind the act was yet to be ascertained, the police said.

While Sandeep Kumar is a Class IV regular employee of a government department, Ravinder used to work for a pharmacy company.

Superintendent of Police Jashandeep Singh Randhawa said, “A special investigation team was constituted, and the CIA-1 unit has arrested both the accused. During the preliminary questioning, the accused had disclosed that on December 25, Sandeep reached Ravinder’s house around 6 pm in the evening, and then they went to see the Christmas celebrations at the church. Later, they went out, consumed liquor, returned to the church late night, and vandalised the statue.”

“The exact reason behind the act was yet to be ascertained. It is a part of the investigation. We are investigating the matter from all angles and we will also check if they have links with any organisation. Their bank accounts are being checked. They will be produced before a court on Wednesday and we will seek their remand. We will get the crime scene recreated”, he added.

The SP further informed that Sandeep was a regular employee and has claimed that he has done B Tech and has also cleared the exam of Junior Engineer. His claims are being verified.

A statue of Jesus was vandalised by the two accused after the Christmas prayers on the intervening night of December 25 and 26. The incident took place between 12.30 am and 1.40 am. Both suspects were spotted in the CCTV camera footage.

The Holy Redeemer Church is the oldest church of Ambala. It was established in 1843. A case was registered at Ambala Cantonment police station.

Caption: Both the accused, who vandalized the statue of Jesus, in police custody in Ambala on Tuesday. Photo: Pradeep Maini