Sabarimala row: BSNL transfers activist Rehana Fathima
Kochi, Oct 24 : Activist Rehana Fathima, a BSNL employee who had made an attempt to enter the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala, has been transferred to the Palarivattom telephone exchange in the city where public contact is not required, sources said.
Fathima, a telecom technician working in the customer relations section at the Boat Jetty branch here, was Tuesday transferred to the telephone exchange at Palarivattom, the sources said.
However, the sources said she has not committed dereliction of duty. Sabarimala Karma Samithi Tuesday organised a protest march to the Palarivattom BSNL office, seeking her expulsion.
The Kerala Muslim Jama'ath Council had expelled Fathima from the Muslim community for "hurting sentiments of lakhs of Hindu devotees".
The activist's house was allegedly vandalised by unidentified people while she was away trying to climb the holy hills on Friday last. She made a failed attempt to reach the temple with heavy police protection.
The attackers reached Fathima's house in Panambilly Nagar here while she was climbing the hills.
Fathima, a model and activist who was part of the 'Kiss of Love' movement in Kochi in 2014 against alleged moral policing, was among the two women who had reached the hilltop, but had to return before reaching the sanctum sanctorum following massive protests by Ayyappa devotees.
A mother of two, the activist had kicked up a row last year by posing for photos topless with watermelons to protest against a Kozhikode-based college professor's statement comparing women's breasts to watermelons.
A case has been registered by police in Pathanamthitta against the activist for hurting religious sentiments.
On September 28, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme 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, but a section of devotees has been protesting the decision.
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Woman dies by suicide amid alleged social boycott, five booked in Yadgir
Yadgir (Karnataka) (PTI): A 46-year-old woman allegedly died by suicide after facing sustained social boycott and harassment by members of her community, police said on Thursday.
An FIR has been registered in Yadgir district based on the complaint lodged by Yellappa Suryavamshi (50).
Suryavamshi alleged that the victim Kamalamma (46), a resident of Girinagar area in Yadgir, allegedly jumped into the Bhima river near Joladadagi village between the evening of March 14 and the morning of March 15, following alleged mental harassment linked to a social boycott imposed on her family.
Suryavamshi alleged that their family had been ostracised by members of their community over an unverified accusation involving their son.
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“A village panchayat held on September 8, 2025, had directed the family not to interact with a relative and imposed a 10-year social boycott, asking them to vacate the village,” Suryavamshi said in his complaint.
Following the decision, the family had shifted to a rented house in Yadgir town.
However, earlier this month, when the woman returned to their native locality, a group of individuals allegedly confronted her and reiterated the boycott, the FIR said.
“Despite the earlier boycott, she was again prevented from staying in the village and was subjected to continued mental harassment,” the complainant said.
The complainant further alleged that even relatives who offered shelter to the woman were threatened with similar social ostracism.
“Those who gave her refuge were warned of facing a fresh boycott by convening another panchayat,” Suryavamshi alleged.
Unable to bear the alleged humiliation and pressure, the woman is said to have taken the extreme step, police said.
Her body was recovered from the river on March 15 and shifted to the district government hospital mortuary in Yadgir, police said.
Based on the complaint, a case has been registered against five individuals under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
