UP church attacked with bombs, cops late to react

A church in Lakhimpur Kheri district was attacked with country-made bombs and stones late on Saturday, damaging window panes and furniture.

According to Sureel Loyal, property officer for the church, the bombs were thrown at around midnight. He alleged that the police did not respond to their calls, so they called the local MP and MLA.

“We mentioned in our complaint to the police that we made multiple calls to Dial 100 and the SSP’s official mobile phone from 7 am to 9 am on Sunday but no one responded,” he added.

The Sunday Mass was performed on the pavement as people were not ready to enter the church. The matter came to light after a local TV channel reported the incident on Monday.

Superintendent of the police (Lakhimpur Kheri), D.M. Chaudhary, said on Monday that something that “looks like a bomb” was thrown inside the church. “It is a mischievous act. We have sent the object for testing in the explosives department to verify its kind and intensity,” he added.

SHO Kotwali (Lakhimpur Kheri), Ramvir Chaudhary, said an FIR had been lodged against unidentified men under Section 295 of the IPC (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion) and Explosives Act and further investigations were on.