The Kerala High Court on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the complaint that policemen on duty at Sabarimala had manhandled pilgrims bound for the famous lord Ayyappa shrine there. The attack on the pilgrims had taken place on Monday night.
The court had on Tuesday morning demanded an explanation from the Special Commissioner, Sabarimala after the incident came to light. Special commissioner K Babu had presented a report to the court saying that there was fault on the part of the police.
The court asked the Special Commissioner to probe the incident and ordered that the vehicles of the pilgrims should not be blocked without his permission. The devotees were attacked by policemen who were deployed at Sabarimala for crowd-controlling.
The police resorted to use of force against the pilgrims as the flow of devotees to the temple increased at an unprecedented rate on Monday night. Reports from Sabarimala said that the police were using bamboo rods to “control” the devotees and they were protesting against the use of force.
Rush of devotees at Sabarimala has been on the rise since the sanctum sanctorum opened for the second phase of the pilgrimage, Makara Vilakku festival, on December 30. Reports suggested that pilgrims had to stand in the queue for up to 12 hours on Monday and Tuesday for having Darshan at the shrine.
The ultimate day of the season, the Darshan of Makara Jyoti, the holy flame that flickers on the horizon over a distant hilltop, falls on January 14.