PAMPA: Two young women pilgrims to Sabarimala, Reshma Nishanth, 30, and Shanila Sajesh, 28, were forced to trek down by the police and protesters after a three-and-half-hour high voltage drama here early Wednesday morning.
Three protesters stopped them along with their seven male friends near Neelimala, a point in the traditional trekking path from Pampa, at 4.20 am. As the report spread, over 50 protesters, mainly non-Malayalis, thronged at the spot, blocking their movement.
The women sat down on the trekking path asking the police for help to move ahead. Police refused and turned them back, saying the mob could become violent if they move forward.
However, the women argued with police that they had undergone strict penance of 41 days and they came as absolute devotees. They insisted that they must have darshan.
Ms Nishanth told reporters that it was a police lapse that made the situation tense.
“There were only three protesters initially,” she said. “Police restricted our journey so that more protesters could gather.”
They said they wouldn’t take off the holy beads wore as part of penance till they had a darshan of Lord Ayyappa.
As the situation turned vicious, the policewomen took them forcibly to their vehicles.
The violent mob started throwing broken coconut shells at the moving police vehicles.
