Tension in Hubli following desecration of statue

This led to a road block and a demonstration for some time, before the police intervened and brought the situation under control.

Crowd assembles

Passers-by saw that black paint had been smeared on the statue of Mother Teresa located adjacent to St. Mary's School on Club Road on Tuesday morning.

The news soon spread and members of the Christian community started assembling near the school.

Abusive writing

The crowd, which had got bigger by this time, become more angry after the discovery of abusive writing on the compound wall of St. Mary's School.

They blocked the road and staged a demonstration demanding action against the perpetrators of the crime.

The police immediately rushed to the spot and took control of the situation. Deputy Commissioner of Police S.M. Pratapan and other senior police officials assured the people of taking action immediately.

Subsequently, Police Commissioner K. Ramachandra Rao spoke to Christian religious heads and the protesters and assured them of immediate action against the culprits.

Following his assurance, the protestors, who were led by the parish priest of St. Joseph's Church Fr. Rodrigues Joseph and others, withdrew their protest. Fr. Joseph told presspersons that they came to know of the incident around 7 a.m.

He said that they had also demanded adequate security for all churches in the twin cities which Mr. Rao had agreed to provide. Meanwhile, the compound wall was cleaned and workers were employed to clean the statue of Mother Teresa.

After the black paint was washed off, members of the Christian community poured milk over the statue. Deputy Commissioner of Police S.M. Pratapan, along with a few others, garlanded the statue.