Desi Programmer

Watch: How we got a “house church” shut down in Pune What is a “house church”? People are told house churches are private prayer gatherings. But in reality, they are unauthorised congregational centres inside residential houses, where non-Christians are invited to “experience the Holy Spirit” through Pentecostal-style faith-healing, deliverance, laying of hands, exorcism and miracle-cure claims In short - A structured Pentecostal-conversion machinery that uses miracle-healing claims as the bait Their script: accept Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit, get cured of diseases, addiction, evil spirits, family distress, poverty, depression Recently, the Enforcement Directorate revealed how a single Pentecostal organisation named The Timothy Initiative channeled Rs 95 crore into India in just last 6 months for “church-planting”, mainly inside houses This is what we are up against.

LANDMARK CONVICTION: Woman Pastor Convicted for Forcibly Converting and Murdering Woman During ‘Miracle Treatment’ Ritual Exactly a year ago in Chhattisgarh, a woman pastor lured a Hindu family into a conversion trap by promising to treat their daughter through the “miracle power of the Holy Spirit” The pastor inflicted such brutal torture on the 18-year-old patient, Yogita Sonwani, that her ribs were fractured and she suffered a heart attack Hot oil, who was the pastor claimed had been “blessed by Jesus”, was also poured on her body The pastor, Ishwari Sahu, was known in the area for holding “Changai Sabhas” - gatherings where medical treatment through “accepting Jesus” and “miraculous power of Holy Spirit (locally called ‘pavitra aatma’)” is claimed The victim belonged to the Scheduled caste community. The case was heard by the Special SC-ST court of Raipur, which awarded life imprisonment to the pastor on 1 May, 2026 Ishwari has been convicted under the state’s Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam Act and Tonahi Pratadna Nivaran Act The victim’s mother told the court that she had admitted her daughter to Government Medical College, Mahasamund, for treatment, but Ishwari, who was part of a religious conversion nexus, approached her and asked her to “accept Jesus” and try her “miracle healing” instead The mother agreed, eventually losing her daughter to a deadly ritual.