Sabarimala Temple Row: Two Women Attempt to Visit Lord Ayyappa Shrine Without Police Protection, Return After Protests

Nilakkal, December 1: Strong protests by Sabarimala traditionalists on Wednesday forced two women from Andhra Pradesh to abandon their trip to the Lord Ayyappa temple. According to the police, the women neither inform them about their visit to Sabarimala temple and nor sought security for the pilgrimage. While one woman was 42 years old, the other was in her late twenties.

The two women were part of two different groups. The first group, of which the middle-aged woman was part, was just a little over a kilometre from Sabarimala temple when protesters forced them to return. The second group, which had the younger woman, returned after seeing the agitation ahead. They were also manhandled by protesters. No Protests to Be Held at Sabarimala Temple Complex: Kerala HC.

"We came to know about them only after the protests erupted.  We escorted them back to the police station and detained three agitators," a top official told NDTV. There have been intense protests since the Supreme Court struck down an age-old regulation banning women of menstrual age from entering the Sabarimala temple on September 28.

Barring the ruling Left government-led by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Congress, BJP and numerous Hindu organisations are on a warpath warning of strong consequences if any temple traditions were broken. Traditionalists had come up in arms against the new norm as the state government deployed a huge police force to enforce the top court's order.

In October, there was a dawn-to-dusk shutdown across Kerala called by outfits owing loyalty to Hindu groups and the BJP.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 01, 2018 09:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).