Mysore, Jan 25 (IANS) The statue of Mother Mary outside a church near Mysore was damaged late Sunday, police said.
The plaster of Paris statue was broken to pieces but the donation box near it was not touched, Mysore deputy commissioner of police B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda told reporters.

The damage to the stature was noticed Monday morning by the priest of the Holy Family church at Hinkal, 10 kms from Mysore.

Ravikanthe Gowda said it appeared to be a deliberate act of desecration as the donation box was not damaged.

The church had been attacked in 2002 also as some Hinkal residents had objected to the church coming up in the area.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa condemned the incident. He told reporters in Bangalore it was a conspiracy to disturb the peace and that the guilty will not be spared.

He assured protection to minorities in the state where churches have come under attack on and off on charges of indulging in conversion.

Three days back an attempt to vandalise a church in Murudeshwar in Uttara Kannada district, about 500 km from Bangalore, was foiled as area residents raised an alarm after finding a group of people trying to attack the place of worship.