Police guard New Delhi churches after Sri Lanka attacks

Light of Truth

Security has been beefed up at churches in Indian capital, New Delhi after a series of suicide bombings killed more than 300 people in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.

Armed Police are guarding Sacred Heart Cathedral in the capital and asking churchgoers to pass through metal detectors. They also frisk visitors who enter the 88-year-old building.

Similar security measures have been put in place at most of the 200 churches in the city, police spokesperson Madhur Verma told media.

They have also deployed special vehicles carrying trained anti-terrorism personnel outside prominent churches, which are also under the surveillance of plainclothes police officers checking for suspicious movements, according to Verma.

The cathedral attracts thousands of people, including non-Christians, at Christmas and Easter when church officials inform police, who take care of crowd management, traffic regulations and security. “Police provided security during Holy Week and they continue it. We believe it is a precautionary measure. It is good to be cautious,” said Father Savarimuthu Sankar, spokesman for Delhi Archdiocese.

The cathedral has provided police with complete assistance and requests visitors to cooperate with police to remain safe and secure, he said. “We are here to give fool proof security to churches and people in the national capital. It’s our duty,” said a security official posted in front of the cathedral.

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