THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A high-level meeting of police officers scheduled to be held on Monday to make security plans for Sabarimala was postponed to Tuesday. According to sources, the meeting convened by state police chief Loknath Behera was postponed as the Supreme Court will consider a batch of review petitions on Tuesday afternoon.
The police are pinning their hopes on some relief from the Supreme Court on its earlier order lifting the ban on women in the age group of 10 to 50 at Sabarimala. Police officials feel that there is little option to enable the entry of women in this age group without using force.
The police have already made a tentative plan to deploy about 16,000 personnel in different batches for the two-month-long Mand-alapooja – Makaravilakku season from November 16 to January 20. At a time there will be 4,000 police personnel on duty. IG-rank officers will be in charge of security at Sannidhanam and Pampa.
Police sources said that the tension that prevailed at Sabarimala during the five days of Thulam month poojas in October and two days of Sree Chithra Attathirunal could be a key factor while the SC reviews its order. Using force at Sannidhanam would only put the genuine devotees at risk of injuries. Moreover, a large number of police personnel are Ayyyappa devotees and personally opposed to the entry of young women in the temple.
