Pune: Church demolished despite alleged court stay, no notice

Pune: A church was demolished late Sunday night, September 6, in Pune’s Pimpri-Chinchwad city despite church members claiming that a court had issued a stay order, with members also alleging that they were not served any notice before the civic action.

The Municipal Corporation said it carried out a major demolition drive against unauthorised construction in the Rajwade Nagar area of Kalewadi, during which structures spread across 7,400 square feet were demolished. However, the civic body’s statement did not mention the court proceedings or the alleged stay order cited by the church members.

Rose, who has been attending the church for nearly 10 years, told The Free Press Journal that members learnt about the operation only at night and immediately reached the site.

“When we arrived, three JCBs were parked here and a very large police force was deployed,” she said.

According to Rose, around 700 police officials were present at the site. She said that despite church members informing the authorities about the court stay and the hearing scheduled for the following day, the demolition continued.

She alleged that officials entered the premises and forced people out of the structure.

“We had a stay order. The hearing was on Monday. Whatever the court says, we will cooperate,” she said.

Rose also alleged that officials prevented church members from taking photographs and recording videos of the demolition. She claimed they were threatened with the seizure or damage of their mobile phones.

The demolition damaged fans and internal fittings inside the church, which had been built through contributions from low-income members, Rose said.

“We work hard. Many of our people are quite poor,” she said.