Sabarimala Thanthri Family Disowns Rahul Easwar, Says He is Cheating Ayyappa Devotees
Thiruvananthapuram: The Thazhmon Madhom Thantri family on Monday dissociated themselves from Ayyappa Dharma Sena president Rahul Easwar, who has been leading the protests against the entry of women in Sabarimala temple despite a Supreme Court order.
In a public statement, the family – members of which are traditionally the head priests of Sabarimala temple – made it clear that Rahul was not a part of the family and was in no way related to the practices and traditions of the temple or the Thantris.
The Thantris clarified that Rahul was related to the family from his mother’s side – he is the son of Easwaran Namboothiri and Mallika Namboothiri. According to customs, she is no longer part of their family after marriage, they said.
Rahul projected himself as the voice of the Thantris during the protests against the entry of women, but in their statement, the family said he had put them in a fix with his actions.
“Rahul Easwar is cheating Ayyappa devotees, general public, media and government only because his mother is from the family. He is trying to speak as the voice of our family and his immature actions are putting the family in a fix,” the statement said.
“He is not related to the family (practices in anyway). My sister got married and moved away. We practice a patrilineal system now. Which means only the sons inherit the legacy,” Thanthri Kandararu Mohanararu, Easwar’s uncle, said.
The statement also said the family did not agree with Rahul’s controversial speech, where he revealed an organised conspiracy to desecrate the temple by spilling blood from wounds, in case women entered. The family said he could go to any length for media attention.
“He even made an attempt to become a priest in Sabarimala by using a fake letter pad of Sabarimala Chief Thanthri Kandararu Maheswararu. He took his grandfather’s signature on blank cheques and withdrew large amounts on multiple occasions,” the statement added.
Rahul has been arrested and later released on bail twice for his role in instigating protesters against the lawful entry of women in Sabarimala. The cases registered against him include charges of rioting, unlawful assembly and promoting enmity between people on the basis of religion.
Courtesy: www.news18.com
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
