Man arrested for ‘assaulting’ woman pilgrim at Sabarimala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 29-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a woman pilgrim at the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala. He suspected her to be of menstrual age.
Sooraj, hailing from Elanthur in Pathanamthitta district, was one of the main accused in the incident that took place on Tuesday when the hill shrine was opened for the two-day-long “Chithira Atta Thirunal,” a special ritual.

Hundreds of frenzied devotees had tried to attack and prevent the 52-year old woman, Lalitha Ravi, from offering prayers at the temple.

The man was arrested under non-bailable charges — IPC 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), police said. Investigation is on to nab the remaining accused, Pathanamthitta SP T Narayanan said. “The man was arrested on the basis of digital evidence and photographs,” he added.

Police have registered cases against 200 “identifiable” persons for trying to prevent Lalitha, who had come for the ‘choorunu’ (rice-giving) ceremony of her grandchild. Clapping and chanting ‘Ayyappa Saranam’, a huge crowd of devotees surrounded Lalitha, suspecting her to be of menstrual age, but police intervened and escorted her out.

The woman showed her Aadhaar card to the cops to prove that she did not belong to the “traditionally barred” age group of 10-50 years. Police later escorted her to the shrine so that she could offer prayers along with her other women relatives.