Following several attacks on Christian institutions in the national Capital, the Delhi Police has appointed a nodal officer to look after the security concerns of the Christian community. Dr Joy Tirkey, Additional DCP with the recruitment cell whose name was notified by Delhi Police Headquarters, will also bridge the gap between the Delhi Police and the Christian community.
The order of appointing a nodal officer was issued soon after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi summoned Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi, in the wake of several attacks on churches and other institutions. Modi had assured the Christian community that the Government will not allow any religious group to face extortion - overtly or covertly.
Tirkey, a Christian, has been asked to establish a liaison with elders of the community to help the city police in addressing the issues and concerns of the community, said a senior police officer. “I will conduct time to time meetings with the Delhi bishop and senior functionaries of the church. I will also apprise them about the police functioning”.
The nodal officer will also keep track of the status of investigation into past incidents. “They will be briefed about the status of the ongoing investigations too. I am in touch with the investigating officials,” Tirkey added.
It may be recalled that the first case of alleged vandalism and arson happened in East Delhi’s Dilshad Garden area. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of Joint CP Crime Ravindra Yadav was been set up to investigate the case but nothing has come out so far.
The city had witnessed six cases of vandalism and theft in Christian institutions in the past two months. Thousands of Christians had come out on streets against the continuous target on their institutions terming it a “conspiracy against the minority population.”
Delhi Archdiocese spokesperson Savarimuthu Sankar had said as they were less in numbers, some group was targeting them again and again. Of 1.6 crore population of Delhi, 1.5 lakh are Christians. There are at least 208 churches.
Besides, Bassi had also asked the Station House Officers (SHOs) to conduct daily visits to the Christian institutions. They were also going to launch a 24x7 helpline, a Facebook page and Twitter handle to address the community’s issues.