CHENNAI: Hundreds of devotees, residents, and functionaries of various political parties staged a protest on Friday after Tambaram Corporation officials, along with police, moved in to demolish a church building constructed without approval, following a court order.

The church on Rajendra Prasad Road in Hastinapuram was originally established as a small prayer hall in 1991. Over the years, it expanded into a full-fledged church building. Recently, a woman filed a petition in court, alleging that the building was constructed without obtaining mandatory permissions.

After examining the case, the court found that the church was built without obtaining proper approval and that the structure violated building regulations, and directed the corporation to demolish the structure.

On Friday morning, the officials from Tambaram Corporation, along with the local police, came to the church to execute the court order. Seeing them, more than 500 church members, residents, and members of various political parties gathered near the site and started to protest against the corporation.

For nearly five hours, negotiations took place between church administrators, Tambaram Corporation officials, and the police. Following the discussions, the authorities agreed to grant a three-day extension and postponed the demolition temporarily. After the extension was announced, the crowd dispersed.