Unidentified vandals on Thursday set fire to the altar of the Mother Mary Malankara Catholic Church and burnt copies of the Bible, Cross, hymn books, clothes and other holy ornaments.
They also set alight the sound system of the church, which was established in 1996 near Krupanand Hall in Ganesh Colony, Picket, Secunderabad.
“On Wednesday, church helper Mr Matthew Papachan and a worker, Mr Satyajeet Sinha, had cleaned the church as rainwater had entered the premises. The church holds Adoration programmes every Friday, so they wanted to clean the church. At night they locked all the doors and left. When Mr Papachan came back to finish cleaning at 1 pm on Thursday, he noticed smoke coming out of the church.

“He saw the altar on fire and informed the church priest and other elders, who rushed to the spot. Father Felix registered a complaint with the police,” said a police official.
The church had witnessed a similar incident four years ago. Bajrang Dal activists had then attacked the priest and damaged property.
Mr Matthew Papachan said, “I had kept a Bible, Cross, candle stands, a new flyer stand behind the altar, church hymn books, and clothes on the altar, so that they didn’t get wet. The vandals also burnt three other Bibles which were on a different table.
“I had locked up the premises before leaving the church, and when I returned on Thursday everything was broken. We are hurt.”
The church had witnessed a similar incident four years ago. Bajrang Dal activists had then attacked the priest and damaged property.
The police has handed over an intact wine glass to the clues team.
A church member said, “We have been having problems from our neighbour. We think she might have asked people to break into our church. Every time we used to meet for a service, she would put music on loud volume. She had even hired a few special speakers to disturb our services.”
Father Felix said, “it’s sad because the holy ornaments were burnt”.
The police has posted a picket at the church though no arrests have been made so far, said Maredpally Inspector Mr N. Sudhir.