Kundapur: Broken Statue of St Bernadette at Gangolli Church Shocks Locals
By Vinay Pais
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (CN)
Kundapur, Mar 1: The residents of Gangolli, a village near Kundapur woke up on Sunday March 1 to the disturbing news that a statue of St Bernadette at the 400-year-old Church of Immaculate Conception, had been broken by unknown miscreants.
The statue was installed in the grotto. Its pieces were discovered in a gutter by some devotees of the church. The incident has marred the usually peaceful and serene atmosphere on the church precincts.
However, the situation is under control and locals claim that it is an attempt by anti-social elements to disturb the peace in the area.
Sources claim that it is an isolated incident which is not to be linked with anything else. Strangely, the other three statues in the church compound were left untouched.
A police squad accomanied by a sniffer dog and fingerprint experts inspected the area in search of clues.
Madhukar Pawar, superintendent of police, Udupi district, K N Ramesh, assistant commissioner, Kundapur, and C K Shashidhar, deputy superintendent, Kundapur range, visited the spot and assessed the situation. Vicar of Kundapur Varado Fr Alban D’Souza, parish priest of Gangolli Fr Alfonse D’Lima, and former MLA Byndoor Gopal Poojary appealed to the people to maintain law and order and assured them of bringing the culprits to justice
Among those present were Jerald Crasta, Helen Rebebro, A J Bothello, Kiran Crasta, Edward Cardin, Felix Fernandez, Herik Gonsalvies, Michel D’Souza, Vinod Fernandez, Michel Rebero, Kundapur Varado Legal Committee co-ordinator Alvin Quardres, planning committee co-ordinator Valerian Menezes, Catholic Sabha former president Dr Sony D’Costa, Darik Crasta, Johnson Almeida.
Fr Anil Cornelio Trasi, Fr Philip Nere Aranha Padukone, deputy commissioner of Udupi Hemalatha, and Byndoor MLA Laxminarayana, visited the spot.
Speaking to Daijiworld, Udupi SP appealed to the public to stay calm and said that no communal touch should be given to the incident.