By SABRANGINDIA
Late on June 14, unknown people vandalised the Baptist Church on Mission Road near Buxi Bazaar in Cuttack by reportedly hurling a bomb at the Church. Sources report that church members were holding a meeting around 10 PM when the incident took place. Although no one witnessed the act, the explosion has reportedly caused substantial damage to the church’s concrete floor.
As per the New Indian Express, locals have stated that they suspect that the vandalism was intended to create a ruckus and disturb the peace in the area. After learning of the incident, a team from the Cantonment police had arrived at the scene and initiated an investigation. An officer told the media that the cause of the violence is not yet discovered.
In March, Sabrang India has tracked how a bomb was hurled from a nearby flyover after at Sadar Mosque evening prayers in Sambalpur. It had struck two people and a motorcycle outside the mosque. The bomb had been concealed in a box labelled with the Instagram handle ‘sbp mafiya gang.’ A day after the incident, the police arrested a 19-year-old Abhilash Mishra of Sunaripara in Bada Bazar under Town police limits in relation to the incident.
Rise of vigilante incidents in Odisha?
On April 7, as per Hate Detectors, an account that tracks hate crimes in India, Odisha’s Cuttack saw two men attacked by cow vigilantes while they were travelling through an area in an autorickshaw. The attackers forced the men to chant “Jai Shri Ram” slogans. This incident occurred in Mahidharapada on April 7 and follows an earlier attack by the same group, who thrashed two other men for transporting cattle. Similar such incidents of cow vigilante violence against Muslims were witnessed in Odisha. One was witnessed in Angul on February 2024 where cow transporters were reportedly attacked by Rashtriya Bajrang Dal.
This story was originally published in sabrangindia.in. Read the full story here.