Sabarimala: Sri Lankan woman claims police stopped her from offering prayers at hill shrine

A 46-year-old woman from Sri Lanka on Friday claimed that the Kerala Police denied her permission to offer prayers at the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala. She told reporters that she was stopped despite reaching close to the 18 sacred steps which leads to the temple.

Earlier in the day, The Hindu reported that the woman, Sasikala, had walked up the holy steps without any hindrance and offered her prayers at the sanctum sanctorum. “She finished her darshan at around 9.30 pm [on Thursday] and reached Pampa safely by 11 pm,” an unidentified police official told the newspaper. The Times of India reported that she had offered prayers at 10.55 pm.

A senior police officer said police personnel in mufti had accompanied Sasikala and her family to the temple.

Sasikala, however, told reporters stationed in Pampa – an entry point to Sabarimala – that she was not allowed to worship at the temple. “I am a devotee. I wanted to pray, I had completed the 48-day vratham (penance), who are they [police] to send me back?” she is heard telling reporters.

According to Asianet News, police said protests had erupted against Sasikala entering the temple at Marakootam, which is a kilometre away from the sanctum sanctorum. Sasikala, however, said devotees had not protested against her entry.

She told ANI that she went up to the holy steps and was not allowed to go further. “I have a medical certificate,” she said. According to Mathrubhumi, the woman, while seeking protection from police to enter the temple, said her uterus was removed and provided medical documents to prove her claim.

Sasikala’s husband told media that they went only till Marakootam, reported The News Minute. He said policemen in plainclothes retreated when they saw a camera crew. He said Sasikala was stopped while he and his son made the darshan.

The state observed a shutdown called by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sabarimala Action Council, an umbrella group of Hindu organisations, on Thursday after two women below the age of 50 entered the temple the previous day. The protests turned violent and left one person dead and scores injured.

Courtesy : LNW