As the number of people arrested for allegedly being involved in violent agitations against the entry of women of all age at the Sabarimala temple increased to 2061, the Kerala High Court Friday asked the Kerala Police not to play to the gallery and warned of action if innocents were arrested. The police crackdown against the alleged protesters began two days ago in 482 cases registered across Kerala. Of the 2,061 arrested, 1,500 were given bail, while around 500 people were remanded to judicial custody.
Amid the arrests, the BJP in Kerala said the government action amounted to a “Hindu hunt’, while the Nair Service Society (NSS) likened it to the days of the Emergency. While the police aims to prevent more protests when the hill shrine opens for a two-month-long festival in November, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called a meeting of Devaswom ministers of the southern states on October 31.
Following a recent High Court order, which wanted the state government to levy damages caused to public property by agitators, the Kerala police have slapped stringent conditions for the bail of those in judicial custody. The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which had incurred a loss of `1 crore during the agitation, wanted police to ensure that those involved in vandalising state buses pay the damages.