Kerala minister calls Sabarimala tantri 'Brahmin monster'
Kochi, Jan 5: A senior Kerala minister Saturday attacked the Sabarimala temple's Tantri (chief priest), calling him a "Brahmin monster" for conducting a 'purification' ceremony after two women in the menstrual age group entered the shrine.
The women, Kanakadurga (44) and Bindu (42), entered the shrine and offered prayers on Wednesday, breaking a centuries-old tradition. Following this, the tantri, Kandaru Rajeevaru, closed the sanctum sanctorum to perform the 'purification' ceremony.
Kerala public works department (PWD) minister and senior CPI(M) leader G Sudhakaran asked if a man who treated "a sister as impure" can be considered human.
"The tantri is a symbol of caste devil. He is not a Brahmin. He is a Brahmin monster. If a Brahmin becomes a monster, he will be a terror," he told reporters here.
"He is not a 'shuddha (pure) Brahmin'. He does not have any love, respect and allegiance towards Lord Ayyappa," the minister alleged.
Kanakadurga and Bindu had entered the hallowed precincts, guarded by police.
Their entry into the shrine came three months after the Supreme Court's historic judgement lifting the ban on the entry of girls and women between 10 to 50 years of age into the hilltop shrine of Lord Ayyappa the eternally celibate deity.
Despite the court's ruling, which came on September 28 last year, no one from the 'barred' age group was able to offer prayers at the shrine because of frenzied protests by devotees and right-wing outfits.
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Patna school set on fire by mob after 4-year-old student found dead on campus
Patna (PTI): A school was set on fire by a mob in Patna's Digha area on Friday after a four-year-old student was found dead on the campus, police said.
The boy did not return home from school on Thursday. When the family approached the school to know if he was there, the authorities denied it, they said.
In the night, the body of the boy was found on the school campus as his family frantically searched for him everywhere.
"Angry family members and locals gathered outside the school on Friday morning and set the building on fire. They also tried to block the traffic by burning tyres on the road," said a police officer.
"The fire was immediately brought under control," he said.
Three people were detained in connection with the death of the child, police said, adding that the CCTV footage of the school was being analysed.
"A case has been registered and an investigation is underway. All evidence collected from the spot is being forensically examined," Senior Superintendent of Police Rajeev Mishra told PTI.
District Magistrate Shirsat Kapil Ashok said, "The district education officer has sought a detailed report about the incident from the officials concerned in the area."
