1400 arrested in connection with sabarimala protests
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 25: Cracking the whip, Police have arrested 1400 people, who took part in demonstrations across Kerala against entry of women in the 10-50 age group into the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala.
State police chief Loknath Behera Thursday said the arrests were made in the last two days and 440 cases registered in connection with violent incidents following the supreme court verdict allowing women of menstrual age to offer prayers at the hill temple.
Kerala Governor P Sathasivam Thursday met Union Home minister Rajnath Singh at New Delhi and apprised him of the law and order situation and the recent events in and around the shrine following the top court verdict.
Police have also released photographs of over 200 people suspected to have been involved in the protests at Sabarimala to prevent the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine last week.
Special teams would be formed in all districts to identify the suspects whose photographs were released on Wednesday, police sources said.
Pathanamthitta district police chief T Narayanan said a list of 210 people, who are suspected to have taken part in the protests and their photographs have been been sent to Superintendents of Police of various districts for identification.
As part of steps to beef up security at the 'Sannidhanam' (temple complex), it has been decided to deploy 5,000 additional police personnel during the three month-long 'mandalam-makaravilakku' season starting on November 17.
The number of police personnel at Sannidhanam, Pamba and Nilakkal would also be increased and more CCTV cameras would be installed, a police press note said.
The temple had witnessed high drama recently with around a dozen women in the 10-50 age group being prevented by protesting devotees from entering it after the doors were opened for all women following the apex court verdict.
Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran Thursday claimed that effective police intervention had foiled the protesters' bid to "desecrate" the Ayyappa temple by spilling blood in the premises if women devotees in the 10-50 age group offered prayers.
He said the "conspiracy" of the devotees was made clear by Ayyappa Dharma Sena president Rahul Easwar, who had said the faithful had plans to make the Lord Ayyappa shrine "impure" by spilling blood on its premises, forcing its closure if young girls and women devotees tried to enter the shrine.
"This was a planned attempt to desecrate the holy temple, but effective police intervention defeated their efforts," Surendran told reporters.
Easwar, who belongs to the Thazhamon family of Sabarimala tantris (priests), had said they had drawn up a contingency plan to force the closure of the temple in case young devotees in the "barred" age group managed to reach the shrine for darshan.
The minister said this disclosure showed that there was a well conceived plan, similar to that followed by nations to attack their enemies and added that this attempt was not only seditious, but also against the interest of devotees.
Rahul Easwar had said the faithful were prepared to inflict knife injuries on themselves on the temple premises, which would have forced the priests to close the gates.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court Thursday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation seeking barring of entry of women in the menstrual age group into the Sabarimala hill shrine till additional facilities were set up for them, and said the petitioner can approach the Supreme Court.
Rejecting the plea, a bench, comprising Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and A K Jayasankaran Nambiar, observed that all constitutional institutions were bound to abide by the directions of the apex court.
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Ahmedabad plane crash: Six months on, college hostel lies in ruins, sans bustle of students
Ahmedabad (PTI): Six months after the AI-171 plane crash, the B J Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad stands as a haunting reminder, with its charred walls and burnt trees replacing the once lively chatter of students with an eerie stillness.
Scattered across the crash site are grim remnants of daily life - burnt cars and motorcycles, twisted beds and furniture, charred books, clothes and personal belongings.
The Atulyam-4 hostel building and the adjoining canteen complex stand abandoned, with entry strictly prohibited.
For residents near the site, memories of the incident still linger, casting a lasting shadow on their lives, with some of them saying they are still afraid to look up at the sky when an aircraft passes overhead.
On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed moments after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 persons.
The aircraft slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar, turning a lively student neighbourhood into a landscape of ruin and grief.
"The area now lies very silent, only a few birds chirp here," Sanjaybhai, a security guard deployed at the premises by authorities to prevent trespassing, told PTI.
Mahendrasingh Jadeja, a general store owner whose shop is just 50 metres from the point where the aircraft struck, described it as an unimaginable calamity. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this."
Pointing to a tree behind his shop, the 60-year-old said the aircraft first struck there before crashing into the hostel building.
"It was a scorching summer afternoon. Not many people were outside. When I heard a loud crashing sound, I ran out of my shop. We were all terrified," he recalled.
"Even today, we instinctively look up whenever a plane passes overhead," he added.
Another local, Manubhai Rajput, who lives barely 200 metres from the site, said he witnessed the horror unfold on June 12.
"The plane was flying unusually low. Before I could understand what was happening, there was thick black smoke and a deafening crash," he said.
For over three decades, Rajput and his neighbours lived close to the airport without giving much thought to the aircraft overhead.
"We never looked up at the sky. But that day is etched in my mind. The plane hit a tree first, and then there was a loud sound," he said.
Rajput recalled how hundreds of locals rushed to the site even before police, fire services or the Army arrived.
Tinaben, another resident of Meghaninagar, said she never imagined something like this could happen in Ahmedabad.
"Despite being close to the airport, this area always felt safe," she said.
As an aircraft roared overhead during the conversation, Tinaben paused, looked up nervously and said, "It's still scary."
A senior official of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state government has yet to decide what to do with the damaged site.
Currently, investigations are going on and the site is strictly prohibited for people, he added.
