Sabarimala Issue: HC grants bail to activist Rahul Easwar
Kochi, Dec 21: The Kerala High Court Friday granted bail to Ayyappa Dharma Sena leader Rahul Easwar, who was re-arrested earlier this week for defying the bail conditions imposed in a case related to violent protests at Sabarimala in October.
He was arrested on Monday after a local court revoked his bail.
Granting the fresh conditional bail, Justice Sunil Thomas directed the activist not to enter Pamba, an important pilgrim spot enroute to the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala.
The judge also directed him to sign at Pathanamthitta police station once every month.
Easwar was arrested from a rest house in Palakkad on Monday, two days after the court at Ranni in Pathanamthitta district ordered his arrest for failure to appear before the local police as stipulated in the bail condition.
The Ayyappa Dharma Sena leader spearheaded protests against the implementation of the Supreme Court verdict permitting women of all age groups into the Lord Ayyappa temple.
He was earlier arrested in the case relating to violence at the Lord Ayyappa shrine when it was opened for the monthly prayers on October 17, for the first time after the apex court lifted the ban on menstrual age women visiting the shrine.
The local court, while granting bail, had stipulated several conditions, including that he has to appear in the Pathanamthitta police station every Saturday.
However, on December 8, he failed to appear, police had said, following which the court cancelled Easwar's bail.
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Air India flight from Mumbai makes 'priority' landing in Bhopal after snag; return leg cancelled
Bhopal (PTI): A Bhopal-bound Air India flight from Mumbai carrying 175 persons on board made a “priority” landing here on Sunday due to a snag, an airport official said.
The aircraft landed safely at Bhopal airport at 3.20 pm, he said.
Consequently, the return leg of the flight from Bhopal to Mumbai, with 178 passengers booked, was cancelled, the official said.
AAI-run Bhopal airport said in a statement that Air India flight AI 633 “reported a technical issue to Air Traffic Control (ATC) during the flight from Mumbai to Bhopal”.
Immediately, all prescribed safety protocols were activated, and seamless coordination was ensured between ATC, airline ground operations, CISF and airpiort fire and rescue team of Bhopal airport, it said in a statement.
The flight, carrying 175 persons, including 166 passengers and nine crew members, landed safely at Bhopal airport at 3.20 pm, the airport operator said.
All necessary assistance and support were extended by the airport and airline teams as per the requirements of the flight crew, it said.
“Due to the technical issue, the aircraft was declared unserviceable, and as a precautionary measure, the return flight AI-634 (Bhopal to Mumbai) was cancelled by the airline to facilitate detailed inspection and rectification,” the statement said.
