Man held on charge of setting fire to boards outside Kadavumbhagam synagogue in Keralam’s Kochi

The Ernakulam Central police have arrested a 32-year-old Puthen Cruz resident for allegedly setting fire to boards kept outside the gate of the Kadavumbhagam synagogue on Market Road in the city.

The police have registered a case on a complaint filed by the owner of a plant nursery functioning in the compound of the synagogue. The Kochi resident of Jewish faith was also the caretaker of the synagogue that is said to date back to over 800 years.

The person who reportedly ignited the fire is said to have also taken a video of the incident. Central agencies too are learnt to have interrogated him.

A police officer who is part of the probe said the person’s links, if any, with extremist groups and those based in other countries, were being probed. No such link has been established so far.