POLICE in New Delhi detained hundreds of Christian protesters yesterday as they prepared to march to the home minister’s residence to demand that the government investigate recent attacks against churches.

The protest was organised in response to a fire that gutted a church in New Delhi. Several other churches have been vandalised over the past two months.

Protesters blamed the attacks on Hindu extremists.

They assembled outside the city’s main Sacred Heart cathedral (pictured) carrying placards that read: “Enough is enough — what are police doing?”

There they were dragged onto buses and taken to a police station. Several priests and nuns were among those detained.

Police said that the protesters had been detained because demonstrations are banned in the area where Home Minister Rajnath Singh lives.

“The protesters have no permission to protest on the road. They can’t just march to the home minister’s residence. We have to protect the homes of VIPs,” explained senior police officer Mukesh Kumar Meena.

Church leaders have expressed disappointment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not condemned the attacks.

Christians make up about 2.3 per cent of India’s population of 1.26 billion.

Attacks on churches have increased since Mr Modi’s Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party won national elections last May.

“We don’t trust the police to conduct an impartial inquiry. We want a panel headed by a High Court judge to investigate these attacks,” said church official John Dayal.

“A clear pattern of orchestrated attacks is emerging as more churches are targeted, vandalised and set on fire,” said Delhi Archbishop Anil Couto.