6 people,including 3 women from TN Hindu outfit, planning to enter Vavar mosque near Sabarimala,held
Palakkad(Kerala), Jan 8: Six people, including three women, who wanted to visit the famed Vavar mosque at Erumeli near the Sabarimala temple, have been arrested on charges of trying to create animosity between religious groups, police said Tuesday.
All the six, said to be members of the Hindu Makkal Katchi, hail from Tamil Nadu and wanted to visit the vavar mosque, which is related to the Sabarimala pilgrimage, they said.
The Erumeli Nainar Juma Masjid, also known as Vavar 'Palli' (mosque) is dedicated to Vavar, the Muslim companion of Lord Ayyappa, the adopted son of the erstwhile Pandalam king as per Hindu belief.
The devotees of Lord Ayyappa visit the mosque during the November-January annual pilgrim season.
They do not enter the prayer hall but circumambulate the mosque, provide Kanikka (offering) and break coconut at the premises as part of traditions.
Cases under various sections of the IPC, including for promoting enmity between various religious groups, punishment for criminal trespass, unlawful assembly and punishment for rioting were registered against them.
The arrested women are Sushila (35), Revathi (39) both from Tirupur, and Gandhimathi (51) from Tirunelveli.
The men- Tirupathi (50), Murugasamy (75) and Senthil Kumar (31), hail from Tirupur and Coimbatore, Kozhinjampara police, bordering Tamil Nadu.
The six were arrested Monday and remanded to custody Tuesday, police said.
The Sabarimala temple had witnessed violence protests when two women in their forties had trekked the holy shrine and offered prayers on January 2.
A hartal called the next day to protest against the temple entry had seen large scale violence all over the state.
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Niqab incident: Nitish Kumar perhaps revealing his true colours, says J-K CM
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday criticised his Bihar counterpart over the niqab incident and said that Nitish Kumar might be slowly revealing his true nature.
"Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular leader, may be slowly showing his true colours," Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.
Abdullah said Kumar removing the face veil of a Muslim woman doctor was wrong and cannot be justified by any means.
"We have seen this kind of incident here several years ago. Have you forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti removed the burqa of a legitimate voter inside a polling station? That act was wrong, and this act (of Kumar) is also wrong.
"If the (Bihar) chief minister did not want to hand over the order to her (Muslim woman), they could have kept her aside. However, to humiliate her like this is totally wrong," the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
Kumar stirred a huge controversy after he removed the face veil of a Muslim woman at a function earlier this week.
