The State police is yet to decide whether to escort Pune-based gender equality activist Trupti Desai to Sabarimala. State Police Chief Loknath Behera told journalists here on Friday that law enforcers were analysing the situation and would calibrate a suitable response soon.
Ms. Desai has spent the past five hours besieged by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists inside the Nedumbassery airport in Kochi. The agitation for her return to Maharashtra appeared to gather momentum with every passing hour. Many women have also joined the prayer sit-in protest in front of the airport.
Top BJP and RSS leaders have told journalists that they would not allow her to step outside the airport. Online hire taxi services have repeatedly refused Ms Desai’s plea to ferry her to Sabarimala fearing violence.
A senior officer said Ms. Desai’s much-publicised arrival appeared to have galvanised anti-women protestrrs on the day of the temple opening.
The police analysis was that Ms Desai’s appearance in Kerala has worked to the advantage of “Save Sabarimala” campaigners. Law enforcers said they felt that Ms Desai and her followers appeared to have helped the BJP reinvigorate their flagging agitation and seize the political initiative. The police think that any attempt to escort Ms. Desai and her fellow activists to Sabarimala would vitiate the charged atmosphere further.
Any move to transport Ms Desai and her fellow activists to Sabarimala under police escort would be akin to playing into the hands of Sangh Parivar organisations opposed to the entry of women to the forest shrine.
Safety of women devotees the prime focus for Police
Over 800 women have reserved their darshan time in advance via the police department’s online queue management system, and their security is the primary focus of law enforcement. The police are keeping their numbers, identities and timing of visit confidential.
The police are hoping to outsmart the protesters by escorting them rapidly and secretly, possibly under cover of darkness in the early hours, to the sanctum and back.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had hinted on Thursday that the police might set apart some days or hours exclusively for women devotees. Other options included the use of all-terrain vehicles and segregated pathway for women pilgrims.
The police were also apprehensive that “Save Sabarimala” activists in the guise of pilgrims might resort to direct action, including committing self-harm, to stoke religious passions and turn public opinion against the Government.
They were taking no chances and had even thrown a security ring around the large bonfire in front of the “18 holy steps”.
The law enforcement has marshalled over 15,000 officers to uphold the peace in Sabarimala over the 63-day pilgrim period.
The deployment would reach its zenith only in the final phase of the season when lakhs of pilgrims are expected to congregate at Sabarimala to witness the Makaravilakku ritual.
The unprecedented mustering of police resources at Sabarimala was indicative of the law enforcement’s estimation of the threat posed by anti-women protesters to public peace.
