Cops arrest 2,000 Sabarimala protesters in two days

Hindu Sena members shout slogans during a protest. Pic/AFP

The crackdown on protesters, who prevented women from the hitherto banned age group from entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, has crossed 2,000 arrests in just two days, police said on Friday.

In the last 12 hours, over 700 people from Pathanamthitta district - where the temple is located - as well as Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Ernakulam and other places have been arrested, Director General of Police Loknath Behra told the media.

A total of 2,061 people across the state have been arrested since Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chaired a high-level meeting with police officers and ordered the action to begin on Thursday. A total of 452 cases have been registered against 2,300 people for defying the September 28 SC order allowing women of all ages to visit
the temple. The police chief said the crackdown would continue.

NSS: Action against devotees unethical
Nair Service Society, an outfit of Kerala's Nair community, termed as "unethical and anti-democratic" the police action against devotees who protested the entry of women of all age groups in the Sabarimala temple.

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