December 23, 2024 04:29 pm (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Cylinder blast at a temple in Karnataka's Hubbali injures nine people | Kuwait PM personally sees off Modi at airport as Indian premier concludes two-day trip | Three pro-Khalistani terrorists, who attacked a police outpost in Gurdaspur, killed in an encounter | Who is Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-American picked by Donald Trump as US AI policy advisor? | Mohali building collapse: Death toll rises to 2, many feared trapped for 17 hours | 4-year-old killed after speeding car driven by a teen hits him in Mumbai | PM Modi attends opening ceremony of Arabian Gulf Cup in Kuwait | Jaipur gas tanker crash: Toll touches 14, 30 critical | Arrest warrant against former cricketer Robin Uthappa over 'PF fraud' | PM Modi emplanes for a visit to Kuwait

Sabarimala: More than 100 injured during Kerala shutdown

| @indiablooms | Jan 03, 2019, at 05:31 pm

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 3 (IBNS): Widespread violence was reported from across Kerala on Thursday amid a shutdown call by pro-Hindutva groups to protest against the state government for aiding two women in their 40s to enter the Sabarimala temple on Wednesday.

More than 100 people, including 38 police personnel, have been injured, reported Hindustan Times. Four BJP workers were stabbed in Thrissur while trying to enforce the shutdown.

While the BJP is supporting the bandh, the Congress is observing Thursday as a "Black Day".

According to reports, clashes between the police and bandh-enforcers were reported from Pandalam, Kozhikode, Kasargode and Ottapalam. Several journalists were also assaulted in Palakkad during a march organised by the BJP and the RSS.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the two women in their mid 40s entered the shrine a day ago with police protection, media reports said.

Video footage of the incident, where two women could be seen entering the temple, has gone viral on social media.

The women reportedly reached the temple around 3:45 am.

According to some media reports, these two women have been identified as activists Bindhu and Kanakadurga.

After the women's entry,  the temple was closed for "purification rituals", a move that was slammed by various outfits saying it was practising untouchability.

On Sept 28, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had lifted the ban on women's entry into the Sabarimala temple declaring the relevant rules as unconstitutional.

Following the top court's verdict, the shrine opened on Oct 18 for the first time allowing menstruating women, belonging to the age group of 10 to 50, to enter the temple.

However, several men and women had protested outside the temple, and tried to prevent the entry of women in the shrine.

For centuries, menstruating women had been banned from entering the temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.