Rahul Easwar taken into custody on controversial remarks over Sabarimala
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 28 : Police Sunday took into custody Rahul Easwar, president of the 'Ayyappa Dharma Sena', for his alleged provocative statement related to the entry of women into the Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala.
A team of police personnel from Kochi took Easwar into custody from his flat here in connection with a case registered under IPC Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 117 (abetting commission of offence by the public or by more than 10 persons), police said.
The arrest will be recorded in the evening after they reach Kochi, police sources said.
A member of the Thazhamon family of Sabarimala tantris (head priests), Easwar had said during a press meet in Kochi last week that they had a contingency plan to force the closure of the temple by spilling blood on its premises by some devotees in case any woman in the 'barred' age group managed to reach it.
He had also claimed that 20 Lord Ayyappa devotees opposing the entry of women in the age group of 10 and 50 were ready to inflict knife injuries on themselves on the temple premises, which would have forced the priests to close the gates on account of impurity.
"Had their blood fallen on the floor of the temple, that would have forced the priests to shut the shrine for three days for purification rituals," Easwar had said.
A case was registered against him later on the basis of a complaint filed by a Thiruvananthapuram native.
Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakkampally Surendran had claimed that effective police intervention had foiled the protesters' bid to "desecrate" the Ayyappa Temple by spilling blood in the premises if women devotees in the 10-50 age group offered prayers.
He had said the "conspiracy" of the devotees was made clear by the statement of Rahul Easwar.
The Minister had also said the disclosure showed that there was a well-conceived plan, similar to that followed by nations to attack their enemies and added that this attempt was not only 'seditious,' but also against the interests of devotees.
Easwar was earlier arrested from Sabarimala Sannidhanam (temple complex) on October 17 over the 'save Sabarimala campaign, and later released on bail.
The temple had witnessed high drama with around a dozen women in 10-50 age group being prevented from entering the temple by protesting devotees after the doors were opened for all women, following the Supreme Court verdict.
On September 28, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Apex Court, headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, had lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.
BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai Sunday lashed out at the police action against Easwar. "BJP condemns the police action on Rahul Easwar and also those associated wit the protests over the Sabarimala issue," he told reporters.
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Former Pak PM Imran Khan, his wife sentenced to 14 and 7 years in prison in corruption case
Islamabad (PTI): A Pakistan court on Friday sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 14 and seven years in prison respectively after finding them guilty of corruption in the 190 million pounds al-Qadir Trust case.
Judge Nasir Javed Rana of the anti-corruption court announced the verdict that had been deferred thrice due to different reasons, last time on January 13.
The judge announced the verdict in a makeshift court set up in Adila jail.
Besides jail sentences, Khan was fined Rs 1 million and Bushra Bibi half a million rupees. Failure to pay the fine will entail an additional six months of imprisonment for Khan and three months for Bibi. The court also ordered the confiscation of the land of Al-Qadir University set up by them.
Khan is already in jail while Bushra was arrested from the court.
“Today's verdict has tarnished the reputation of the judiciary In this case, neither I benefited nor the government lost. I don't want any relief and will face all cases," Khan was quoted as saying by his party.
“A dictator is doing all this," he said.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in December 2023 filed the case against Khan (72), Bibi (50) and six others, accusing them of causing a loss to the tune of 190 million pounds (PRs50 billion) to the national kitty.
Only Khan and Bibi have been prosecuted in the case as all others, including a property tycoon, were out of the country.
The case revolves around allegations that an amount of PRs50 billion, returned to Pakistan by the UK's National Crime Agency as part of a settlement with a property tycoon, was misused.
The funds were reportedly intended for the national treasury but were allegedly redirected for the personal benefit of the businessman who helped Bibi and Khan to set up a university.
Bibi, as a trustee of the Al-Qadir Trust, is accused of benefiting from this settlement, including acquiring 458 kanals of land for Al-Qadir University in Jhelum.
Judge Rana concluded the hearing in the case on December 18 but reserved the judgment until December 23. Later, he fixed January 6 as the date for announcing the verdict, Geo News reported.
He was on leave on January 6 so the verdict was postponed until January 13.
But the verdict was once again deferred as the accused and their lawyers were not present in the court on January 13.
The judgment comes amidst the ongoing negotiation between the government and Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to address the political instability in the country due to the imprisonment of Khan and several other leaders of his party.
So far three rounds of talks have been held and the PTI has presented its charter of demands in writing to the government.
Khan is facing dozens of cases after his ouster as prime minister in 2022.
He has been jailed since August 2023.
