Updated

Hundreds of Christians are protesting in the Indian capital after a fire destroyed a church.

While the cause of the fire is not known, the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese said Tuesday that "mischief" was suspected.

The blaze broke out in St. Sebastian's Church in a northeast suburb of New Delhi on Monday.

A statement from the archdiocese says that forensic samples retrieved from the church smelled of fuel. There was no immediate comment from the police.

India is overwhelmingly Hindu but officially secular. Christians account for about 2.5 percent of the country's 1.2 billion people and largely coexist peacefully.

However, the issue of conversions by Christian missionaries has sporadically provoked violence by Hindus.