Kochi, November 16: Trupti Desai, the women's rights activist, who was in Kerala en route the Sabarimala temple on Friday said that she has been asked by Police to return to Pune. The seven-member group led by the Pune-based activist arrived at the Cochin International Airport on Friday morning but were not allowed to leave from the airport building due to protests outside. Amid high security, the temple re-opened on Friday evening for the two-month long pilgrim season. Despite the Supreme Court Verdict to allow women of all ages in the temple, most of the Ayyappa devotees are firm against permitting entry of menstrual age women into the shrine. Sabarimala Verdict: Why These 5 Arguments in Favour of Restricting Women’s Entry Into the Ayyappa Temple Are Baseless.

The protesters, who support the restrictions on women despite the Supreme Court ban said they wouldn't allow the activist and her group to step out of the airport. Desai informed that she had landed at Cochin International Airport by 4:30 am and no taxi driver outside the airport agreed to take her team to their destination. Desai and her associates were held up inside the airport for over seven hours. Sabarimala Row: Trupti Desai Will Have to Step on Our Chests to Enter, Says Rahul Easwar. 

While talking to media at the airport, Desai said that the protestors threatened taxi drivers from providing the services. "Hotel staff was threatened of damage to hotels if rooms were given to us. It saddens me to see that ppl who call themselves Ayyappa devotees are abusing&threatening us", Desai added,

Earlier, Desai had written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the state police chief seeking protection to visit the shrine. It must be noted that this is the third time the temple has opened since the Supreme Court on September 28 allowed women of all ages to enter the shrine. History of Sabarimala: Why Women Weren't Allowed Into The Lord Ayyappa Shrine.

On September 28, the Supreme Court in its landmark verdict had allowed women of all ages between 10 and 50 to worship at the temple. However, no woman has been able to enter Sabarimala. Ahead of Sabarimala Temple’s reopening today, authorities had imposed Section 144 (which prohibits assembly of more than four people at a place) in the towns of Nilakkal, Pamba, and Sannidhanman as a precautionary measure.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 16, 2018 08:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).