Mob attacks media persons near Sabarimala Temple which opens today
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 17 (IBNS): Armed, masked people have targeted media persons near Kerala's Sabarimala Temple, which is going to open for the first time on Wednesday since the Supreme Court passed its verdict allowing all women, irrespective of their ages, to enter the shrine, media reports said.
At least four media persons were attacked, NDTV reported.
Several people are opposing the verdict.
On Tuesday, several protesters reportedly stopped and checked vehicles and forcibly turned back girls who are aged between 10 to 50.
Security has been tightened at the base camp, Nilakkal, which is around 20 km away from the temple, to keep the situation under check.
The top court had passed the verdict as it was hearing a clutch of petitions that have been challenging the ban on the entry of menstruating women, who are aged between 10 to 50 years, in Sabarimala Temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa.
The five-judge bench, headed by former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, passed the judgement in favour of women with a 4:1 ratio. The only judge who had dissented, interestingly a woman, was Justice Indu Malhotra.
Earlier in January this year, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the Sabarimala Temple, had decided to make proof-of-age documents mandatory for female devotees at the shrine.
Sabarimala is a Hindu pilgrimage centre at the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District and witnesses one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world with an estimated 45–50 million devotees visiting every year.
Lord Ayyappa's temple is situated amidst 18 hills on a hilltop.
A petition has also been filed urging the top court to review its own order. However, the Supreme Court refused to hold an urgent hearing of the plea.
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