Mumbai, Mar 22 (TNN): Three unidentified men attacked the St George Catholic Church in New Panvel, Navi Mumbai in the wee hours of Saturday by hurling stones inside the church compound and damaging the glass enclosure of the statue of Saint George.

The surprise attack which lasted for just over a minute has shocked the Christian community, while their leaders have strongly condemned it by calling the incident a political mischief.

An FIR has been lodged by the parishioners at Khandeshwar police station.

The former vice chairperson of Maharashtra minorities commission and currently the president of Indian Christian Voice, Abraham Mathai, told TOI: ''As soon as I got to know about the church attack, I called up the top officials of Navi Mumbai police department. They have promised to catch the culprits at the earliest. I am shocked and saddened by today's incident as it reflects the inability of the government to protect the minorities.''

Mathai added: ''These communal goons are emboldened by the indifference of the government at the Centre and the state, and therefore continue perpetrating such heinous crimes with impunity.''

One of the church parishioners told TOI: ''The attack took place at 1.30am when three men with faces covered with handkerchiefs came outside the church on a motorcycle and hurled stones at the statue of Saint George. We have shown the CCTV footage to the cops.''

The Church belongs to the Syro Malabar denomination, and its head is Bishop Thomas Elavanal. The building was consecrated at the spot in 2007.

The assistant commissioner of police (Panvel division) SB Suryavanshi told TOI: ''The miscreants had thrown stones at the church entrance from the roadside and later fled from there. A case has been registered at the Khandeshwar police station for further investigation.''