Sabarimala highlights: BJP worker dies in Kerala violence; 745 arrested

Reports say that at least 745 people were arrested till Thursday evening, while 628 people were taken into custody as a precaution

11:11 PM

Ayyappa devotees stage protests in Karnataka

 

Devotees of Lord Ayyappa staged protests at several places across Karnataka on Thursday against the entry of two women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala temple in neighbouring Kerala. (Read more here) 

 

Meeting under the banner of the 'Sabarimala Samrakshana Vedike' (Save Sabarimala Forum), the protesters demanded Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's resignation over the incident. 

 

The protesters pointed out that Vijayan was not only a party leader but also the chief minister of a state and, hence, he should respect the religious sentiments of crores of Ayyappa devotees because India is a democratic country.

11:08 PM

Ayyappa devotees stage demonstrations in Hyderabad on Sabarimala issue

 

Groups of devotees of Lord Ayyappa held demonstrations on Thursday in different parts of the city in protest against the entry of two women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. (Read more here) 

 

Holding placards that read "Save Sabarimala", the protesting devotees took out a rally in Saidabad area here and squatted on the road. 

 

They raised slogans against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and later also burnt his effigy.

8:41 PM

8:29 PM

Kerala media boycotts BJP, Hindu group for attacks on journos

 

With media personnel being attacked at various districts during the 12-hour hartal by saffron outfits against the entry of two women in their 40s into Sabarimala temple, the Kerala Union of Working Journalists on Thursday decided to boycott BJP and Sabarimala Karma Samithi. (Read more here)   

 

The press meets called by BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai and Samithi leader K P Sasikala were boycotted by the media this afternoon in protest against the widespread attacks faced by them since Wednesday afternoon. 

8:27 PM

The government transport system has claimed a loss of around Rs 3.35 crore as the protesters attacked around 100 buses in two days. The annual loss due to the attacks in Hartals for the transport corporation is around Rs 10 crore, said officials. 

8:26 PM

745 people arrested

Reports say that at least 745 people were arrested till Thursday evening, while 628 people were taken on custody as a precaution.  

8:25 PM

Hartal turns violent in Kerala, BJP worker dies

 

The protest, which followed after two women aged below 50 years entered the Sabarimala temple despite resistance from the Hindu outfits on Wednesday, has ended up in violence across the State and death of a BJP worker. (Read more here)   

7:03 PM

Sabarimala panel says special police protection to women would affect rights of pilgrims

 

A three-member panel appointed by the Kerala High Court to oversee the ongoing Sabarimala pilgrimage season has said granting special police protection to women in menstrual age to enter the Lord Ayyappa temple would adversely affect the rights and safety of other devotees. (Read more here)  

 

In a report submitted in the high court on Thursday, the committee referred to the incidents when police escorted 11 women activists of Manithi, a Chennai-based outfit, to Sabarimala on December 23 and two women on the next day and said this contributed to the long queue of pilgrims from the base camp at Pampa up to the place of hold up.

 

The December 25 report also said because of the incidents, devotees, including women and children, had to wait for hours together for getting darshan.

6:58 PM

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6:03 PM

Ten Hanuman Sena activists have urged the Union Home Ministry to take note of the incident, alleging that it had "hurt the sentiments of Hindus" and sought necessary action against the Kerala government. 

6:03 PM

In view of the one-day hartal in Kerala over the issue, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation suspended services to that state. About 25 bus services were cancelled, police said. 

6:03 PM

Fifteen members of the Bharatiya Janata Party lawyers' wing in Coimbatore burnt a portrait of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. They raised slogans against him for failing to maintain the shrine's "sanctity". 

6:03 PM

60 protesters held in TN over women's entry into Sabarimala

 

Sixty workers of a Tamil Nadu-based fringe Hindu outfit were arrested for trying to stage a 'rail-roko' on Thursday in protest against the entry of two women of menstruating age group into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, police said. (Read more here) 

 

The Hindu Makkal Katchi activists were prevented from staging the protest at a railway station in Coimbatore, the police said.  

5:47 PM

4:34 PM

The state's universities postponed the examinations scheduled for Thursday. 

4:34 PM

Scores of protesters were arrested from different parts of the state for breaking peace. 

4:34 PM

The Congress is observing a 'black day' against the entry of women into the Sabarimala shrine, the abode of its perenially celibate deity Lord Ayyappa. 

4:34 PM

Some Youth Congress workers were injured when they were hit by the pilot vehicle of the chief minister's convoy while they attempted to show black flags to Vijayan. 

4:34 PM

CPI(M) offices were pelted with stones in Ernakulam and Mallapuram districts, while a library managed by the party in Palakkad was also vandalised. 

4:28 PM

Journalists stage protest march

Journalists staged a protest march in the state capital after they were allegedly assaulted by protesters. The state's police chief Lok Nath Behera said a special team will probe the assault on media.  

4:28 PM

Crude bombs being used in protests 

Agitators hurled a crude bomb at a local beedi manufacturing unit managed by the CPI(M) in Thalassery in Kannur district, but it did not explode, police said, adding 10 right-wing activists were arrested. (Read more here)  

 

Another crude bomb was thrown at Nedumangadu police station about 17 km from here, officials said. It was not immediately known whether it went off and caused any damage.  

4:28 PM

The office of the CPI at Palakkad was attacked by the protesters and the vehicles parked in front of it, including state transport corporation buses, auto-rickshaws and police vehicles were pelted with stones.

4:28 PM

Protest demonstrations by the BJP and Sabarimala Karma Samithi turned violent at several places in Kozhikode, Kannur Malappuram, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram.

 

Police used batons and water cannons to break up protests.  

4:27 PM

Some shopkeepers defy 'hartal' call 

Normal life was thrown haywire because of the shutdown, as shops and hotels remained shuttered in the state capital. However, defying the 'Hartal' call, some shopkeepers opened their establishments on SM Street, a major trade hub in Kozhikode, besides a few places in Kochi and Kollam under police security. (Read more here) 

4:19 PM

State-run buses keep off the roads 

Most state-run buses kept off the roads after several of them were damaged in Wednesday's violence, while only a few autorickshaws plied in cities and towns. 

4:18 PM

4:18 PM

Three BJP activists stabbed

The state was under siege as strike supporters clashed with police and the ruling CPI(M) activists at several places. (Read more here) 

 

In Thrissur, three BJP activists were stabbed during a clash with workers of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of Popular Front of India, a militant Islamic outfit, police said.

4:17 PM

The dawn to dusk shutdown called by Sabarimala Karma Samithi, an umbrella organisation of various pro-Hindutva groups, and the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP), plunged the state into turmoil, as hundreds of Hindu right-wing activists disrupted vehicular movement, and vandalised shops and offices of the ruling CPI(M).