Thiruvananthapuram: A Kerala woman, aged 36-year-old, claimed on Wednesday she has offered prayers at the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala.
The news was, however, refused to be confirmed by the the Chief Minister’s office and the police. A native of Chathannoor, Manju claimed that she visited the shrine on Tuesday.
She made the claim in a Facebook post. She said she prayed in front of Lord Ayyappa on Tuesday and the devotees present there did not object to it.
“I started the trip from Thrissur and visited the shrine on 8 January. I spent almost two hours at the Sannidhanam. I also sought help from the Akhila Baratha Ayyappa Seva Sangham members who happily helped me to offer prayers,” she claimed in her post.
On 2 January, three months after the Supreme Court lifted a ban on entry of girls and women in the 10-50 age group, two women, Bindu and Kanakadurga, of menstrual age entered the Sabarimala shrine escorted by police personnel.
This led to State-wide protests and violence. A few days later, a Lankan woman below 50 years also successfully entered the temple. This intensified the agitation by the BJP and right-wing outfits and houses of BJP-RSS and CPI(M) leaders were attacked by country-made bombs.