CCTV footage shows Sri Lankan woman entered Sabarimala temple, offered prayers

Sources in the Chief Minister's Office and police confirmed that the Lankan woman did indeed enter the shrine and offered prayers.

Kannur IG Balram Kumar Upadhyay, who is in charge of the Sannidhanam (temple complex), could not be contacted.

The woman identified as Sasikala was accompanied by her husband and son.

Confusion prevailed over the entry of the 46-year old woman for some time following which the police sought video footage to re-confirm her visit.

According to sources, the woman had to publicly deny taking part in the darshan as she was worried about her safety.

Her husband Saravanan also maintained that only he and his son were able to worship at the temple.

Last night, some television channels aired visuals of the woman with "irumudikettu" (sacred offerings) and two policemen in mufti (plain clothes accompanying her.

CCTV visuals of Sasikala's visit were released by police later.

On Friday, a transgender, Kayal, who arrived at Pamba at around 6 am, was turned away by the police and not allowed to go to the temple complex following protest from the devotees, the police said.

Kayal had come in a saree and later changed into men's clothing and tried to trek the holy hills with "irrumudikettu", they said.

Four transgenders had recently offered prayers at Sabarimala wearing black sarees.

Since the LDF government decided to implement the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all age groups to enter the holy shrine, the temple complex has witnessed fierce protests from right outfits, BJP and RSS workers.

Traditionally women in the 10-50 age group are not allowed to enter the temple.

Creating history, two women in their forties-- Bindu and Kanakadurga -- had offered prayers at the shrine in the early hours of January 2.

Kerala had witnessed unprecedented violence and mayhem on Thursday, a day after the two women entered the hill temple, infuriating saffron outfits, with protesters blocking roads by placing burning tyres and granite blocks.

As many as 1,369 people have been arrested and 801 cases registered in connection with violent protests as part of the dawn-to-dusk 'hartal' called by pro-Hindu outfits Thursday, police said, adding that 717 people are now under preventive custody.

Crude bombs were hurled at the house of Malabar Devaswom (temple administration) Board member K Sasikumar at Perambra in Kozhikode in the early hours of Friday, police said.

Similar explosives were hurled at a mobile shop in Adoor in Pathanamthitta.

Police said four incidents of hurling of crude bombs had been reported in Kannur, a politically volatile district which is witness to frequent clashes between CPI(M) and BJP workers.

A local BJP office in Kannur was set on fire by miscreants. None were injured in the incidents, they added.

A number of houses of the BJP and the ruling CPI(M) activists were attacked and stones hurled in Pathanamthitta, Kannur, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram.

Hurling crude bombs and stones, fringe groups rampaged through the streets of the state during the shutdown Thursday, fighting pitched battles with police and political rivals, leaving scores of people injured including three BJP workers in a knife attack.

The hartal was called by Sabarimala Karma Samithi, an umbrella organisation of pro-Hindutva groups, and the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad, to protest the entry of the two women into the Ayyappa temple.

Prohibitory orders were imposed in Palakkad town and Manjeswaram Taluk of Kasargod district in northern Kerala late Thursday night after widespread protests erupted over the women's entry.