Heckled By Protesters At Sabarimala, Woman Passes Out After Panic Attack
PAMBA/NEW DELHI: A woman suffered from panic attack and had to be taken to a hospital near Sabarimala after masses of protesters surrounded and heckled her. Earlier today, two women had to turn back after facing similar treatment from groups that have been camping on way to the hill shrine, determined not to let any woman of reproductive age set foot there.
Balamma, 47, had trekked almost 4 km without police protection, unnoticed by anyone. Then, in absolute disregard for the Supreme Court ruling, the protesters surrounded her and checked her ID card for age. The protesters were not stopped by police.She fell unconscious and had to be taken to a hospital in Pamba, the police said.
Since the temple opened on Wednesday - the first time after the top court's ruling - no woman has been able to reach the temple gates. So far, eight women have attempted the nearly 19 km trek. None have gone beyond Nilakkal and Pamba - two main stops on way to the shrine. Two of them, Kavitha, a journalist, and Rahana, an activist, were stopped near the shrine's main entrance, a few hundred metres from the sanctum sanctorum.
The temple, which remains open only five days a month, will shut tomorrow.
From Day 1, protesters have made their determination clear, stopping buses, harassing women and attacking reporters and media vehicles in presence of the police force. Despite the state government's assurance that law and order will be maintained, police presence has been largely ineffective, women say.
Since Wednesday, the police have tried to chase away the protesters a few times. But they have always returned and stationing themselves mainly at the base camps Nilakkal and Pamba managed to heckle and intimidate women into staying away. They have even started checking the ID cards of women at Nilakkal base camp before allowing them to proceed.
The police say they will provide protection to the women devotees to reach the temple, but cannot help beyond that. "Darshan is something which can be done with consent of the priest," said Kerala Inspector General S Sreejith. On Friday, his team formed a protective ring around two women who wished to enter the temple, but they did not succeed.
In what is being considered as a failure of the state machinery and intelligence, a group of protesting devotees have stationed themselves at Sannidhanam, minutes away from the final 18 steps leading to the temple. The police have not been able to stop this.
Earlier today, two women from Andhra Pradesh in their early forties were stopped 200 metres from Pamba.
Vasanthi, 41, and Aadhiseshi, 42, minutes after they started climbing towards the hilltop shrine of Lord Ayyappa, protesters surrounded them and forced them to go back. They said they did not know about the situation in Sabarimala, and have decided to return home.
Courtesy: www.ndtv.com
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BJP's Suvendu urges Bengal Guv to order independent judicial inquiry into Messi event fiasco
Kolkata(PTI): Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Saturday wrote to Governor C V Ananda Bose, seeking an independent judicial inquiry into “administrative incompetence” and “public humiliation of citizens”at the Salt Lake Stadium here during an event featuring football legend Lionel Messi.
In his letter, Adhikari alleged that the stadium, built with public funds, was converted into a “private durbar” for political elites, resulting in humiliation and harassment of spectators who had purchased tickets.
"I write this communication with a profound sense of anguish, constitutional alarm, and moral urgency. What unfolded at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan was not merely an episode of administrative incompetence, it was a public humiliation of citizens, a grotesque exhibition of unrestrained political privilege, and a direct assault on the rule of law in the presence of thousands of witnesses," Adhikari asserted.
He claimed that football fans were denied basic amenities and dignified viewing due to unchecked VIP presence, obstruction of sightlines, and arbitrary restrictions.
Chaos unfolded at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, after spectators resorted to vandalism on failing to catch a glimpse of Messi, alleging gross mismanagement by the organisers and obstruction of views by VIPs.
Police arrested the event’s prime organiser, Satadru Datta, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the constitution of a high-level inquiry committee to probe the incident.
Adhikari, in his letter, held the sports department, police authorities and the minister-in-charge of sports and youth affairs responsible, alleging that the situation was “enabled, if not orchestrated”, by the state administration.
He claimed that the conduct of the authorities reflected indifference to public accountability and misuse of power.
The senior BJP leader also took exception to the inquiry committee announced by the chief minister, contending that it lacked independence and credibility.
Adhikari said the panel is headed by Justice (Retd) Asim Ray, who currently holds a statutory post under the administrative control of the state government, and includes senior bureaucrats whose actions are under scrutiny.
"This committee is structurally compromised, legally infirm, and morally indefensible," he said in the letter to the governor.
Adhikari urged Bose to exercise his constitutional authority to order the formation of a truly independent inquiry committee.
He proposed that the committee be headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court, and assisted by persons of unimpeachable integrity with no institutional, administrative or political affiliation with the state government.
“The issue transcends football, politics, and personalities. It concerns the right of citizens to be treated with dignity, the obligation of the state to act as trustee of public interest, and the duty of constitutional authorities to intervene when the executive becomes a law unto itself,” Adhikari said.
Later, speaking to reporters, he accused the state government of mismanaging the situation at Salt Lake Stadium, and demanded the resignation of the CM.
Adhikari said all those responsible for the fiasco should be arrested, and spectators must be provided refunds.
He alleged that senior Trinamool Congress leaders and their associates crowded around Messi, leaving thousands of fans at the stadium deprived of catching a clear glimpse of the football star.
“This was a case of misuse of power at the cost of ordinary citizens. The chief minister must take moral responsibility, those responsible for the incident should be arrested, and every fan who was cheated must get a refund,” Adhikari asserted.
He added that public anger would not subside without accountability and corrective action.
