36-year old Dalit activist woman claims to have offered prayers at Sabarimala shrine
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 9: A 36-year-old woman from Kerala Wednesday claimed she has trekked Sabarimala and offered prayers at the Lord Ayyappa shrine.
The chief minister's office and the police, however, refused to confirm the woman's claim that she visited the shrine Tuesday.
Manju, a native of Chathannoor, made the claim in a Facebook post, saying she prayed in front of the presiding deity on Tuesday and none of the devotees present there protested.
"I started the trip from Thrissur and visited the shrine on January 8. I spent almost two hours at the Sannidhanam (main temple complex). I also sought help from the Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sangham members who happily helped me to offer prayers," she claimed.
The state had been on boil since January 2, when two women of menstrual age entered the hilltop shrine in the wee hours escorted by police personnel, three months after the Supreme Court lifted a ban on entry of girls and women in the 10-50 age group.
A Lankan woman below 50 years also succeeded in entering the temple a couple of days later.
BJP and right-wing outfits, who have been protesting against the state government's decision to implement the September 28 order of the apex court, intensified the agitation, leading to widespread violence after Kanakadurga and Bindu entered the shrine.
The protests also saw return of political violence after a gap with houses of BJP-RSS and CPI(M) leaders coming under country-made bomb attacks in the past few days.
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Janasena MLA loses Rs 12 lakh in fake RTA challan cyber fraud
Polavaram (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): Andhra Pradesh police have registered a cyber fraud case after Janasena MLA C Balaraju lost Rs 12 lakh by clicking on a malicious APK file, a police official said on Sunday.
According to police, the incident occurred on March 6 when the legislator unknowingly accessed the fraudulent link, leading to unauthorised transactions from his bank account, following which he approached the National Cyber Crime Helpline and registered a complaint.
"We have registered a case after Janasena MLA C Balaraju from Polavaram constituency lost Rs 12 lakh by clicking on a malicious Android Package Kit (APK) file posing as an Road Transport Authority (RTA) challan," the official told PTI.
Fraudsters have transferred all amounts from the MLA's account after he clicked on the suspicious APK file, he said.
The complaint was later forwarded to the local police station on March 21 for further investigation, he added.
Meanwhile, police have registered a case under Section 318(4) BNS and Section 66 D of the IT Act and initiated a probe into the incident.
According to police, bank statements revealed that the withdrawn amount was traced to an ATM located in West Bengal.
It is suspected the involvement of an organised gang, possibly with international links, behind the cyber fraud, the official added.
