Another Two Catholic Crosses Vandalized In Goa

Panaji, July 6 (IANS): The ongoing mysterious vandalisation of places of worship in Goa continued on Thursday, with reports about two more Catholic crosses damaged in two villages of south Goa, police said.

Superintendent of Police Chandan Choudhury told reporters that the crosses were vandalized in Shelvonn and Quepem villages on Thursday morning.

"We are investigating both the cases," the official said.

On Thursday, two platoons of the India Reserve Battalion were deployed by the Director General of Police Muktesh Chander for night patrolling of the area.

Over the last few weeks, atleast seven cases of vandalisation of Catholic crosses and Hindu idols have been reported in South Goa district.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has accused miscreants of carrying out the planned vandalism in order to stoke communal disturbances. "Such things cannot be tolerated," Parrikar said.

Apart from investigating the cases with conventional policing methods, the Chief Minister has already instructed the Goa Police to contact Google to provide 24x7 mapping of the state in order to nab the miscreants.