Members of various churches under the Calcutta diocese of the Church of North India (CNI) demanded the removal of the bishop, Reverend P.S.P. Raju, for the alleged misuse of tsunami relief funds.

The protesters also gheraoed Bishop House, on Chowringhee Road, and burnt an effigy of Bishop Raju.

The bishop was not at home and the protesters dispersed after an hour.

“We will continue the protest till our demand is met. We have faxed a message to Enos Das Pradhan, the general secretary of the CNI in Delhi, demanding immediate removal of Bishop Raju,” said Reverend Sailesh Mukhopadhyay, a leader of People’s Synod, which has been spearheading the agitation.

London-based Methodist Relief and Development Fund has accused Calcutta Urban Society, headed by Bishop Raju, of misappropriating a Rs 3-crore grant for tsunami relief work.

There have also been allegations that a section of diocese officials had misused around Rs 22 lakh that the students and guardians of 27 city schools had donated for tsunami relief.

However, some church members on Friday described the allegations of People’s Synod as “baseless”. “They (Synod members) are tainting the image of the CNI,” said Suman Biswas, a member of the executive committee of the diocese.

Bishop Raju was unavailable for comment.