Protests expected in Sabarimala during festive season: Special commissioner to Kerala HC

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Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], Oct 23 : The special commissioner of Sabarimala M. Manoj submitted a report to the Kerala High Court informing that protests by frenzied devotees and protestors may lead to crowd turbulence and stampede leading to injuries and loss of lives during the festival season next month.

The report submitted by Manoj states that there is unconfirmed information that some protestors of political parties are camping in and around Sannidhanam to protest and prevent women between 10 and 50 from entering the area. “It is anticipated that protests by protestors and vigilantism by devotees acting with religious frenzy to prevent women between the age group of 10 to 50 will be prevalent during the Mandalam makaravilakku festival season commencing on 16 November 2018 and it may lead to chaos in Sabarimala, Pampa Nilakkal, Erumeli etc.” the report read.

“During festival season, there will be large crowds in places connected with Sabarimala pilgrimage and these types of protests by frenzied devotees and protesters may lead to stampede which may lead to injuries and loss of life of pilgrims, police, and others,” it noted.

Manoj also informed the high court that the state police have so far registered 16 criminal cases against the protestors. In his elaborate report, he has also outlined the different incidents that unfolded after the temple was opened for the first time on October 17 after the Supreme Court verdict. Sharing all these information with the Kerala High Court, the special commissioner has sought direction in this regard.

Sabarimala Temple witnessed a series of protests by devotees and priests as few women between the ages of 10 and 50 attempted to enter the holy shrine following the top court’s ruling lifting all restrictions on women’s entry into the holy shrine. The Ayyappa temple closed on Monday after it opened for five days as a monthly ritual in the Malayalam month of Thulam. A five-member constitutional bench headed by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra had, on September 28, lifted the ban on the entry of women in menstrual ages, terming the practice as “irrational and arbitrary”