Police in India’s Karnataka State have removed 15 crosses from a hill near a Catholic parish, accusing Christians of encroaching on government land and erecting crosses without permission. It was the second such incident this year in the southern Indian state.
More than 300 police and revenue officials arrived Sept. 23 at St. Joseph’s Church in Susai Palya in Chikkaballapura district and removed the crosses. In a six-hour operation, police removed a 32-meter-long cross from the hilltop and 14 seven-meter-long crosses on the way to the hilltop.
“The government officials acted arbitrarily without any prior notice,” said parish priest Father Antony Britto Rajan.