On Wednesday, two women in their 30s were forced to return by angry protester, halfway from the hilltop shrine of Sabarimala in Kerala Pathanamthitta. The incident took place days after two others became the first to offer prayers at the shrine in centuries.
Reshma Nishanth and Shanila Sajesh, residents of Kannur had covered almost half of the 5.5-kilometre trek to the temple but were blocked by angry devotees in the morning.
Dressed in men clothes, they used the lean time early in the morning to dodge protesters and started trekking at 5am. Both of them said that they came after police promised protection.
They managed to trek for some time but were identified and encircled by the protesters as they walked up. Police then arrested five of the protesters and the women continued trekking for some time.
They were then stopped in Neelimala as large numbers of protesters lay on the path leading to the temple, to stop them from going further. The drama continued for two hours and police removed them forcibly.
Police pleaded helplessness as the situation turned tense, saying it was beyond their control and took the women to Pambha, the base camp, after they were blocked.
“We don’t need any certificate from Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi whose party is on a mission to annihilate people in the name of the cow”, said the State temple minister Kadakampally Surendran.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday had launched a blistering attack on Kerala government on its handling of the Sabarimala controversy. He also said that the Communists didn’t respect Indian culture and spiritual traditions. He also slammed the Congress for taking multiple stands on the issue.
The Supreme Court in September last year had allowed women of all ages to worship at the Sabarimala shrine, overturning a centuries-old traditional ban on women of childbearing age from entering the temple.
One of them, Kanaka Durga, was attacked by her mother-in-law on her return home on Monday. She was admitted in a hospital at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district.