A magistrate court in Pathanamthitta on Saturday denied bail to Rahul Easwar, a leader of the Ayyappa Dharma Sena (ADS), an organisation that spearheads a campaign against women of childbearing age from worshipping at Sabarimala.
He has been on a protest fast in a jail in Pathanamthitta district since October 17 after the police arrested him from the Sannidhanam in the early hours of the day. Plainclothes officers hustled him away to the Pampa police station, 4 km downhill from the shrine. They transported him on a tractor used for hauling provision up the rugged switchback trail leading to the temple. The local magistrate remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.
According to jail authorities, Mr. Easwar has shunned solid food since October 18 and they will shift him to a hospital if his health condition deteriorates.
On Saturday, the police told the court that Mr. Easwar, if granted bail, was likely to return to Sabarimala to incite trouble further. They said the newly formed ADS was responsible for the attacks on women, including pilgrims and journalists, in the State during the hartal on October 18.
Meanwhile, Mr. Easwar’s lawyer told the magistrate that his client suffered from spinal ailments. He said Mr. Easwar was weak and had stopped drinking water and requested the magistrate to grant his client bail at the earliest on health grounds.
Mr. Easwar’s counsel also denied the police charges against his client. Mr. Easwar’s wife Deepa, a television presenter, visited the prison and spoke to her husband.
Published - October 20, 2018 05:26 pm IST
