Highly-placed sources in the state secretariat told The Indian Express on Friday that the sudden spurt in mob attacks, allegedly by Sangh Parivar activists, on Muslims and Christians have apparently caused a great deal of embarrassment to the BJP-led government at the Centre, more so because the party is at the helm of affairs in Gujarat too.

The Union Home Ministry has taken a particularly serious view of the Rajkot incident in which VHP and Bajrang Dal activists stormed the I P Mission School and burnt copies of the Holy Bible earlier this week.

The Rajkot episode figured prominently in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday last when some agitated members from Kerala voiced serious concerns over the tearing up of copies of the New Testament.

The sources said the outburst by theKerala members in the Lok Sabha prompted the Home Ministry to seek a detailed report from the Gujarat government on the Rajkot incident. In a swift response to the Union Home Ministry's directive, the state government sent a comprehensive report to Delhi on Thursday evening.

``The government doesn't want to hide anything. We have fully apprised the Centre of what actually happened that day in the I P Mission School premises at Rajkot,'' a senior bureaucrat said when asked if the report mentioned the alleged involvement of Sangh Parivar activists.

He said the local police had been directed to deal firmly with vandalism. A meeting of DSPs has been convened today where Patel and Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya will review the law and order situation in the state, he added.

Apparently perturbed by the Rajkot and Zankhavav incidents, Bishop Stanislaus Fernandes and Father Hector of the Gandhinagar St Xavier's High School called on ACS (Home) P G Ramrakhiani here on Thursday and sought policeprotection for those managing the affairs of Christian missionaries in different parts of the State. They may also meet the Chief Minister in a day or two to apprise him of the Christian community's feeling of insecurity in the wake of mob attacks on their educational and religious institutions.

The bishop told The Indian Express that about 60 VHP activists had staged a dharna in Zankhavav village in Surat district where a group of Sangh Parivar workers had stormed a Christian school and damaged its windows and furniture. Gujarat VHP leader Pravin Togadia who was to participate in the dharna abandoned at the eleventh hour plans to visit the village on Thursday.