The two dauntless women -- Kanakadurga and Bindu -- aged 44 and 42, stepped into the hallowed precincts guarded by police three months after the Supreme Court's historic judgment
She was hit on her head by her mother-in-law. She is reportedly stable and has been referred for further tests in the hospital.
After several women were prevented from entering the Sabarimala shrine after the Supreme Court verdict upheld their right to do so, Bindu and Kanakadurga managed the seemingly impossible. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com finds out how they did it.
Bindu and Kanakadurga, who broke centuries-old tradition by entering the holy shrine, said there were no objections from the devotees and called those who were protesting riot-mongers.
Her husband and other relatives had shifted to a rented building, the police said, adding Kanakadurga then took refugee at the One Stop Centre here.
Kerala Devaswom Minister Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the government would not support those who make announcements about entering the hill shrine for the sake of publicity.
His statement comes in the backdrop of two Kerala women, Bindu and Kanakadurga, in their 40s, entering the temple premises for offering prayers during the early morning hours on Wednesday. They were accompanied by the police personnel.
Bindu from Malappuram and Durga of Kozhikode were trying hard to become part of history by trying to enter the shrine under heavy police protection.
A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices L N Rao and Dinesh Maheshwari said it was only going into the aspect of security of the two women -- Bindu and Kanakadurga, and would not like to entertain any other prayer made in the petition.
Temple priest performed a 'purification' ritual for an hour before the doors were opened again.
Even as the offering of a diamond-gold crown worth Rs 45 crore to Tirumala temple by the Karnataka minister and industrialist G Janardhan Reddy was continuing to be the subject of discussion, an unknown devotee has made one more big donation to another important temple in Andhra Pradesh.
Sasikala, said she was not allowed to undertake the trek to the shrine and sent back by the police, official sources said that she entered the sanctum sanctorum and offered prayers.
The women devotees were surrounded by a large number of protesters after they crossed the base camp to begin the trek towards the hill shrine.
The Kerala government has made it clear that it would not provide security to any woman of menstruating age visiting the shrine, as per Devaswom Board Minister K Surendran.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices L N Rao and Dinesh Maheshwari said it was only going into the aspect of security of the two women and would not like to entertain any other prayer made in the petition.
In the plea, one of the women, who had been attacked by her mother-in-law following her entry into the hilltop shrine, has sought security for both the women.
The Kerala government dubbed Desai's attempt to visit Sabarimala as a 'conspiracy'.
So long as no females were allowed to pray there, the strength of emotion kept the issue burning. As more and more women do this, the matter will fade.
The attacks, which disrupted normal life, marked return of political violence on large-scale after a gap of over a year in Kannur.
Kerala Union of Working Journalists decided to boycott the press meets called by the BJP after saffron party workers attacked mediapersons.
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