Minor fire broke out in a Christmas crib at a church in Outer Delhi’s Rohini area, which according to the Church authorities is a case of “targeted arson” while police suspect that it was due to a short-circuit in the decorative lights.
A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to probe the case. The incident took place in the wee hours of Saturday at the Church of Redemption in Rohini. The head priest, Father Cyril Patrick, noticed that the crib has been charred around 8 am and called police. According to the CCTV footage, the fire broke out around 2 am in which all the statues and the decorations of the tableau, set up depicting the birth of Jesus Christ, were gutted. However, a case has been registered in this regard and further investigations are on.
“Prima facie, it appears that the crib caught fire due to a short circuit. Some decorative lights were placed around the crib and it is possible that the wires caught fire and burned down the entire structure,” said a senior police officer. Savari Muthu Sankar, spokesperson for the Delhi archdiocese, alleged that it was a case of targeted arson.
“I have seen the CCTV footage and someone threw something from outside which caused the blaze. luckily, the crib was near the church compound wall otherwise the entire church would have been burnt,” he said. He also dismissed police claims that short circuit caused the fire. “The lights were working in the church which was not possible had it been short circuit,” he said. Police is making baseless claims as they didn’t even wait for the forensic team before jumping to conclusions, he added.