Hours before the doors of the Sabrimala temple in Kerala opened for monthly rituals on Wednesday evening, the base camp of Nilakkal descended into violence and chaos with clashes erupting between the police and thousands of protesters opposed to the entry of women of all ages at the famed hill shrine.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the police had seized control of Nilakkal by dismantling a tent raised by mostly-male protesters and launching a mini-lathicharge on them to pre-empt any move of violence. Inspector General Manoj Abraham, visiting the spot, told reporters that unlike Tuesday when protesters had searched vehicles to block women between the ages of 10-50 from going to the temple, similar scenes would not play out on Wednesday. “We will not allow anyone to block or search vehicles. We will take strict action against anyone doing so,” he said.