The Pampa police station has received a complaint against Kavitha, television journalist from Hyderabad, and Rehana Fatima, a woman from Kochi, for wearing police shield and helmet while undertaking a trek to Sabarimala from Pampa on Friday.

The complaint, filed by N. Rajeev, a former Deputy Superintendent of Police, alleged that the police officers who provided the shield and helmets to the women had violated Section 43 of the Kerala Police Act.

The police provided the women with helmets and shield in view of attempts by protesters to attack them while they were trekking to Sabarimala in the forenoon.

Ban orders extended

District Collector P.B. Noohu has extended prohibitory orders at Sabarimala, Pampa, Nilackal, and Elavumkal till October 22 midnight in view of the tension in the area. Devotees’ organisations have been staging violent protests against permitting women in the age group of 10-50 years to Sabarimala.

The police took Bharatiya Janata Party State general secretary Shobha Surendran into custody from Vadasserikkara while she tried to break the police cordon and proceed to Pampa on Friday forenoon. She was released later.

In another incident, BJP State secretary Renu Suresh and a few party workers were removed by the police from Nilackal while they were trying to violate the prohibitory orders and stage a sit-in on Friday afternoon.