According to a late statement issued by Church officials the theft took place in the wee hours of September 11 where miscreants, like in previous cases, gained entry by breaking open the padlocks of the main doors of the Church and its office. They then ransacked the box containing some cash and also broke open the doors of an almirah and decamped with around Rs.10,000 in cash.
“Nobody heard or saw anything, it was only when the Chowkidar of the Church came in the morning to open up for the day that the theft was discovered,” Rev. Donaldwood R Marak, the Pastor of Matchakol Baptist Church, informed.
Meanwhile, when contacted an official from Araimile police outpost said that an investigation was on to find the culprits. “We made enquiries of the crime scene as soon as the FIR was received. Action will be taken as per the FIR,” he said.
The incidents of burglary from Churches have continued unabated since the office of the Tura Baptist Church was first burglarized some fortnights ago. In that incident the miscreants had damaged several items inside the Church and made off with several thousands in cash kept inside its office.
The Hawakhana Baptist Church and the Goanang Baptist Church were not far behind and was broken into not too long ago weeks apart from each other. Then followed the burglary at the Sacred Heart Church in which the thieves desecrated sacred items of worship kept inside the Church. The total worth of damage to property including money stolen was put to be around Rs 1.5 lakh by Parish Church officials in that incident.
There were also unconfirmed reports of a break-in at the Modynagar Baptist Church. However, details of that incident were unclear as Church officials were unavailable for comment.
Source: The Shillong Times
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