As many as 27 people, together with 10 minors, had been taken into custody on Saturday (February 24) in reference to a priest hit by a automotive at a church in Keralaâs Kottayam a day in the past, the police stated. The boys, all college students of normal 12, had gone to St Maryâs Forane church at Poonjar on Friday afternoon for taking footage after a farewell get together, an officer of the Erattupetta police station stated. The college students reached there in their private autos utilizing which they made noise loudly revving their vehicles on the church.
How did the incident happen?
The priest had raised objection to it and requested them to depart saying that prayers had been being carried out on the church, the police stated.
As the scholars didn’t comply, the priest tried to shut the gates of the church. Seeing the gates being closed, the scholars tried to hurry exterior in their autos and in that try, one of many vehicles allegedly knocked down the priest, they added.
Out of the 27 people taken into custody, 10 had been minors and could be produced earlier than the Juvenile Justice Board.
The arrest of the remaining 17 was recorded and they are going to be produced earlier than a magisterial court docket for being remanded to judicial custody.
Police register case
A case beneath sections 307(homicide try), 447(prison trespass) and 324 (voluntarily inflicting damage by harmful weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered in opposition to them.
All the eight autos used by the scholars have been seized, police stated.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, the president of Kerala Catholic Bishop Council (KCBC), condemned the incident and stated it has shocked the complete Kerala society, in line with a press release issued by KCBC.
He termed the incident as a “heinous” try to disrupt the prayers on the church, the assertion stated.
The cardinal demanded that the culprits be punished, it stated.
He additionally alleged that it was a “covert attempt at disrupting the communal harmony” in the state, the assertion stated.
The priest, who was knocked down by the automotive, was admitted to a non-public hospital for remedy and is alleged to be in a steady situation.
(With PTI inputs)
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