The Central Police have registered cases against 50-odd protesters who participated in the march organised by the Sabarimala Karma Samithi to the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kochi Range, on Monday. They were protesting against the arrest of protesters at Sabarimala.
The march, which started from Kacherippady, was stopped before the IGP office by a police team deployed under K. Laljy, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ernakulam. The agitators have been slapped with the relevant IPC sections for obstructing traffic and unlawful assembly. They staged a sit-in in front of the barricade put up by the police and kept chanting Ayyappa hymns. Though the police had made extensive arrangements, including water cannons, they didn’t have to use force as the protesters dispersed after a while.
Hindu Aikya Vedi organised a similar protest from Pattupurakkal Junction to the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Thrikkakara. The protest was stopped by the police using barricades.
Similar protests were carried out across the Rural police limits in Angamaly, Aluva, Perumbavoor, Kothamangalam, Muvattupuzha, Paravur and Kunnathunadu. While some of the protest marches were held in the town, some others were taken out to police stations. Earlier, protest marches were taken out to police stations across the district in the early hours of Monday as soon as news of arrest of protesters at Sabarimala Sannidhanam broke.