Police have arrested a person on the charge of threatening a Christian priest with his life, and of trying to rob a church in Belagavi.
Mohammad Nizam Phulwale, 20, a resident of Vaibhav Nagar slum in Belagavi, had entered the Saint Joseph The Worker Church on Bauxite Road on December 11 to steal valuables. The unemployed man was carrying a machete.
He entered the church after jumping over the compound wall. He entered the priest’s quarters on the first floor.
When the priest, Rev. Fr. Francis D’Souza, climbed the stairs to his room, his pet dog was missing, but a stranger was waiting with a weapon. The priest ran to safety while the intruder fled by jumping over the compound wall.
The event was partly caught on a CCTV camera. Police registered a case and began investigations. The initial investigation revealed that the accused intended to steal valuables from the priest’s quarters. He managed to enter the quarters when the dog had gone out.
The accused would be produced before a magistrate on December 14.
