Saint’s statue, Mother Mary’s grotto vandalized in Goa

Panaji, June 29 (IANS) A statue of St Joseph Vaz, Goa's first anointed saint, and a grotto of Mother Mary were desecrated at the St. Clara Church near here on Friday morning, allegedly by a labourer believed to be "mentally unstable", police said.

The incident occurred at Assnora village, located 20 km from Panaji.

"We have arrested one migrant labourer. We suspect he is mentally unstable and is not in a proper frame of mind. After filing an FIR, the accused has been sent to the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour for examination," police inspector Chetan Patil told reporters.

According to the complaint filed by the Church authorities at the Mapusa Police Station on Friday, a statue of the 17th century saint of Goan origin was desecrated, along with an ornamental grotto (a depiction of a small cave) with a statue of Mother Mary.

Last year, Goa Police had claimed to have cracked a series of desecrations with the arrest of taxi driver Francis Pereira, who has been accused of allegedly defiling over 60 crosses and two Hindu idols across Goa.

Last month, police booked a case against unknown persons for desecrating a cross at the St. Cajetan Church in south Goa.

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