Police remove Hindu idol from centuries-old Indian church

Police have removed a Hindu idol installed in front of a church in India's Goa state, a former Portuguese colony, where a government panel is active to renovate Hindu temples destroyed during the 450-year Portuguese rule.

Police filed cases against 10 people on Aug. 19 for installing the idol of Hindu goddess Durga before Our Lady of Health Church, built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, amid claims that the church was built after destroying a temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess.

“We have registered cases against 10 persons,” Diogo Gracias, inspector of the local police station, under whose jurisdiction the incident occurred on Aug. 18, 2023.

The police could not spot the culprits even after searching their houses and no arrests were made, the police official told.

“We will probe all angles, including the illegal trespass and inciting communal disharmony,” Gracias added.

Police said around 12 persons installed the idol in early Aug. 19. A group, identified as the Karni Sena, a local Hindu outfit, said in a video that they installed the idol before the church as a temple existed there several centuries ago. 

"Following complaints from parishioners, police arrived and removed the statue,” parish priest Father Kennet Teles told.

The Church at Sancoale on the bank of the river Zuari was built in 1566. It is a protected monument under India's archeological department.