Rightwing Hindu outfits have called for a dawn to dusk hartal in Kerala on Saturday in protest against arrest of a senior Sangh Parivar leader who was on the pilgrimage to Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple.
VHP state president S J R Kumar alleged that Hindu Aikyavedi state President K P Sasikala was arrested by police near Marakkoottam near Sabarimala at 2.30 am Saturday.
“She was arrested as she was on the way to the hill shrine carrying irumudikkettu (bundle carrying sacred offerings) to offer prayers. Some other activists have been taken into preventive custody,” Kumar told PTI.
He accused the Kerala government of trying to destroy the Sabarimala temple.
The VHP leader said essential services and vehicles of Ayyappa devotees will not be affected by the hartal.
Unprecedented security arrangements have been made at the shrine, which opened for the third time on Friday for the two-month-long pilgrimage season commencing Saturday after the Supreme Court allowed women of menstrual age to offer prayers.
Read | Sabarimala update: Temple opens amid tight security, Devaswom Board to move SC seeking more time to implement order
Meanwhile, gender activist Trupti Desai and six other women, who flew into Kochi on Friday to pray at the Sabarimala shrine, but were forced to remain at the airport for 13 hours, said late evening that she is returning, but vowed to be back before January 20, when the temple doors close.
Their way had been blocked by hundreds of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hindu activists, forcing them to remain holed up at the airport.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials at the airport informed the media that she has decided to return from on Friday night, as she does not want to create any issues in Kerala.
The news was greeted with cheers from the protesters, but they said they will vacate the airport premises only after her flight departs, later in the night.
The airport turned into a noisy protest site as Desai and her group arrived from Pune at around 4.45 a.m, with some 100 protesters shouting slogans and preventing her from leaving the complex despite police presence.
As the hours passed, the number of demonstrators, including top BJP leaders and activists, swelled and they virtually took charge of every entry and exit gates both inside and outside the airport.
Several rounds of talks with Desai with various officials failed to yield any result as she was adamant, and at one point of time, she even told the police that if they are unable to provide her security, she will manage on her own.
She then tried to reach out to the Kerala High Court by contacting legal experts. With time running out for the day and the court closed for the next two days, she informed the police that she will return, but vowed that she will be back.
She is likely to approach the Supreme Court about what happened to her here.
Prior to her arrival, the activist had written to Vijayan seeking police protection from the time she steps out of the plane at Kochi on Friday till she takes her return flight out of the state.
(With inputs from agencies)