india

Updated: Dec 25, 2018 18:03 IST

At least 12 people were injured in an attack on a Sunday mass by a group of people in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district, police said Tuesday.

Deputy SP of Kolhapur Anil Kadam was quoted by ANI as saying, “10-12 people attacked Sunday prayer mass being held at the premises of a local resident Bhimsen Chauhan in Kolhapur.”

The victims were attending the Sunday Mass on December 23 in Kolhapur’s Kowad village, located on the Karnataka border, when the incident happened around noon, a police official said.

A group of 10-12 men armed with swords, iron rods and glass bottles reached the residence on motorcycles and attacked the congregation, he said.

They threw stones on those attending the prayer and tried to barge into the house. But some women, who were part of the prayer meet, forced the attackers to back off by throwing chilli powder on them, the official said.

Twelve people were injured in the attack and they were admitted to hospital, he said.

Senior police officials were monitoring the situation in the area, he said, adding that efforts were on to ascertain the reason behind the attack.

No arrests have been made so far but Police have formed five teams to track down the unidentified accused involved in the incident. Teams have been sent to Belgaum, Karnataka, to locate the miscreants, ANI quoted police officials as saying.