Kochi, Amid mounting protests from faithfuls, police forcefully took over the Jacobite Syrian Cathedral Church at Mulanthuruthy here on Monday.Police broke the gate of the church to enter inside and removed the faithfuls, priests and metropolitans by arresting them before taking over the church.Police took the action as the deadline fixed by the High Court for the district administration to take over the church and handover the keys was to end today. The Jacobite faction had requested not to take over the church till the Court decides the case. However, the district administration rejected their plea. A group of devotees including women and children were already staying inside the church since
Sunday adhering to the COVID protocol.A hunger strike continued in protest over the Orthodox faction taking over the Jacobite Syrian Cathedral Church during the COVID crisis. On July 3, 2017, the Supreme Court had held that 1,100 parishes and their churches under the Malankara Church should be controlled by the Orthodox faction as per its guidelines. With the Apex Cout, the Jacobite faction lost its legal status on the Malankara Syrian Church.