Sabarimala Temple: Women police to be posted at Lord Ayyappa shrine, says Kerala DGP

Reciprocating positively to the Supreme Court's order to allow women of all age group into the Sabarimala temple, Kerala Police on Friday decided to deploy women personnel to facilitate female devotees at the Lord Ayyappa shrine.

Interacting to reporters, Kerala police chief Loknath Behera said, “They (women) will be posted there (at Sabarimala). We are a law enforcement agency. No gender, no religion.  .. nothing. All will have to perform their duties". Behera further said everyone in the force should have to perform their duties irrespective of their religion and politics.

The fresh move came on the heels of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's statement that the Kerala government would abide by the Sabarimala verdict by the SC in the coming pilgrimage season itself. The Hindu pilgrim shrine will be thrown open for devotees on October 16.

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In view of the safety and security for women pilgrims at the temple, the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the shrine, has also decided to make necessary arrangements ahead of the annual pilgrimage season.

The Sabarimala temple authority had been restricting the entry of women belonging to the menstrual age of 10 to 50 as part of its decade-old tradition.

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On October 28, a five-judge constitution bench, headed by the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, lifted the ban on entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine, saying “women no way inferior to men”.