Women get death threats for entering Sabarimala

The two women of menstruating age, who had entered the Sabarimala temple a month ago, have received death threats, police said Sunday.

Bindu and Kanakadurga, in their 40s, had defied dire threats from saffron organisations and offered prayers at the temple that was out of bounds for girls and women between 10 and 50 years of age, breaking the centuries-old tradition and infuriating the Hindu right.

The two women received a letter saying they would be harmed for entering the shrine, the police said.

Forty-four-year-old Kanakadurga, who faced stiff opposition from her husband and other relatives for offering prayers at the Lord Ayyappa Temple on January 2, was forced to take shelter at Perinthalmanna here after her house was locked and her family members shifted to another building.

Police sources said she still continues to be at the shelter after being discharged from hospital following an alleged attack by her mother-in-law for entering the holy shrine.

An employee of the Civil Supplies Department, she has filed a petition in a court here under the Domestic Violence Act, stating she had the right to stay at her husband's home.

Bindu, a 42-year-old college lecturer and CPI(M) ML activist, had accompanied Kanakadurga to the shrine.

The Supreme Court had in a historic verdict last year lifted the centuries old ban and allowed women of all age groups to offer prayers at the temple.

Both the women are being provided round-the-clock security by police besides CCTV survillance.