(AsiaNews) – During the night of 6–7 September, local administrative authorities in Maharashtra demolished the “Jesus Is Lord Church”, an independent, evangelical and non-denominational church, in the Kalewadi area of Pimpri-Chinchwad, near Pune.
Church members claim that the workers carried out the demolition just a few hours before a local court was due to hear the case. The hearing was scheduled for the morning of 7 September 2026. Furthermore, they claim that the authorities ignored an injunction aimed at preventing the demolition. Witnesses also reported that local officials from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation refused to examine the legal documents before demolishing the building.
Activists and worshippers speak out against vindictive policy
Christian activists and parishioners emphasise that the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) specifically targeted the church building for a midnight raid, whilst the surrounding unauthorised commercial structures remained completely intact. Parishioners have openly described the operation as ‘political revenge’ orchestrated to appease the local right-wing electoral base.
Critics regard the midnight hour and the deployment of 700 police officers – together with the refusal to comply with the order – as proof that the state’s law-enforcement apparatus is being exploited. They argue that the ‘campaign against illegal occupations’ has been used as a convenient secular pretext to carry out an extrajudicial closure demanded by right-wing groups.
According to church representatives, the municipal team intervened aggressively under the cover of darkness, explicitly preventing anyone from filming or photographing the bulldozers.
Administration: routine operation
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) defended the operation, describing it as a routine operation. Official statements from the municipal authority maintained that the action constituted a standard enforcement operation against unauthorised construction and illegal occupation of public land, stating that the necessary procedural notices had been served in advance. However, local observers point out that the demolition follows months of mounting religious and political tensions in the area.
In April 2026, the police had initiated proceedings against the church’s preacher, Pastor Kenneth Silva, and seven other individuals, under Maharashtra’s Anti-Superstition and Anti-Black Magic Act, following complaints regarding alleged healing practices.
On 3 May, right-wing groups, backed by prominent political figures including some members of the local Legislative Assembly from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), organised a large-scale protest march through Kalewadi to demand the closure of the building.
Tensions have further escalated in the wake of the recent passage of the “Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act 2026”, which came into force on 28 August and criminalises religious conversions obtained by force or deception. Whilst the municipal authorities maintain that the demolition was solely a measure of urban planning and to combat squatting
An increasingly widespread modus operandi
Human rights defenders point out that carrying out structural evictions at midnight — just a few hours before a court hearing that had already been scheduled — is an administrative tactic increasingly used to present the judiciary with a fait accompli, rendering legal remedies practically useless in practice. Christian rights groups argue that this constitutes targeted pressure against independent religious communities in the region.
The church’s legal adviser is pursuing contempt of court proceedings against specific local council officials. They argue that proceeding with the use of heavy machinery whilst a case is actively pending undermines the authority of the judiciary.
