One-day fast by Christians against police action in Tamil Nadu church

(September 21, 2012) Hundreds of Christians, priests and pastors from various parishes, led by a Catholic archbishop, observed a one-day fast on Wednesday in southern India’s Chennai city against alleged police action in a church near Idinthakarai, the epicentre of the anti-nuclear protests against Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP). Archbishop AM Chinnappa of Madras-Mylapore in Tamil Nadu’s state capital, Chennai, alleged that police entered St Lourdes' Church on September 10 under the pretext of looking for anti-nuclear protestors, and insulted religious symbols. The archbishop and other priests demanded action against police officers who permitted their personnel to enter the church, damaging it. St Lourdes' Church is in Idinthakarai near Kudankulam, where anti-nuclear protestors, spearheaded by People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy, have been agitating against commissioning of KNPP.