Minority Commission Orders ACB Probe Into Alleged Corruption Behind Demolition Of Jain Temple

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Minority Commission has asked the Anti‐Corruption Bureau (ACB) to probe possible graft behind the demolition of Vile Parle’s 1008 Parshvanath Digambar Jain Temple. The Jain community has also lodged a complaint at Vile Parle police station, seeking action against civic officials for razing the shrine and hurting religious sentiments.

The BMC is accused of tearing down the Kambliwadi temple in haste, allegedly to pre‐empt a High Court stay on demolition. The Free Press Journal first broke the story and has followed it closely.

Acting on petitions from the temple trust and the All India Jain Minority Federation, the commission, at its first hearing on Tuesday, rebuked the BMC for the rushed action and questioned its silence on a neighbouring hotel whose owner is alleged to have engineered the demolition. A joint inspection of the site with civic officials and police the same day led the panel to call in the ACB. At its second hearing on Thursday, the commission told the agency to determine whether any officer acted for personal gain.

Following the commission’s directive, the temple trust filed a formal complaint demanding that civic officials be booked for the forceful demolition, which, it says, shattered several idols and sacred texts.

Trustee Anil Shah said, “The BMC disrespected our faith by tossing out idols and literature we touch only with worship cloths. Many were crushed under debris.”