Sabarimala Row: Cameraman injured in protest; 52-year-old woman offers prayer amid police protection

A 52-year-old woman devotee from Thrissur offered prayers at the Sabarimala Temple on Tuesday under heavy police protection. Lalitha was accompanied by her family even as protests emerged against her entry to the Lord Ayyappa shrine. A few journalists were also attacked and a cameraman working wth Amrita TV, a Malayalam entertainment channel, was injured in the clashes, according to a news agency ANI.

The doors to Ayyappa temple opened on Monday for a two-day special puja amid unprecedented security and protests but no girl or woman in the age group of 10-50 years entered the temple. The puja commenced at 5 pm on Monday and will end at 10 pm on Tuesday. The "Sree Chitira Atta Thirunal" puja will be performed on Tuesday to mark the birth anniversary of the last king of the princely state of Travancore Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma.

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Sabarimala virtually turned into a fortress with hundreds of police personnel, including armed commandos, dotting the place where surveillance cameras and mobile phone jammers were installed. Thousands of pilgrims entered the temple as temple tantri (head priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru and melshanti (chief priest) Unnikrishnan Namboothiri jointly opened the portals of the sanctum sanctorum around 5 pm.

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