The group of seven women who arrived in Kochi on November 26 will go ahead to Sabarimala whether or not police protection is guaranteed, said activist Trupti Desai.
“We arrived here on Constitution Day because the right to not be discriminated against is a right given to us by the Constitution. Instead, women like us come seeking protection and get attacked instead,” she said.
Ms. Desai was referring to an attack on Bindu Ammini, who had accompanied Ms. Desai and five other women to the police commissionerate, seeking police protection to visit Sabarimala.
Ms. Ammini had stepped outside the police station to make a phone call when she was attacked. “It was some sort of chilli spray. The police was close by and I pointed the attacker out to them, demanding an arrest,” she said. She is being treated at the Ernakulam General Hospital and was not seriously injured, she said.
“Since there is no stay on the court order from 2018, we should be given protection and allowed to visit Sabarimala. It is a law and order situation. Whether or not we are guaranteed protection, we will go ahead and seek darshan today,” Ms. Desai said.
