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Indian police fire tear gas at protesters after women enter temple
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, Jan 2, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Indian police fired tear
gas, stun grenades and water cannon as protests and clashes erupted across
the southern state of Kerala after two women entered the flashpoint
Sabarimala temple, local media reported.
Violent clashes were reported between scores of people in front of the
state parliament in Thiruvananthapuram, while protests with sporadic violence
were also reported in several other towns across the state.
The two women entered the temple before dawn on Wednesday — the first
time that females aged between 10 and 50 have set foot inside since India’s
Supreme Court overturned a ban in September.
A tense standoff lasting more than four hours in Thiruvananthapuram was
ongoing, with neither side showing any sign of backing down as rival groups
shouted slogans.
Police with batons also charged at protestors who were trying to enforce a
shutdown of shops in the area. Several policemen were injured as protestors
threw stones.
The defiant move by the two women, both 42, enraged traditionalists who in
recent months have stopped other women trying to penetrate the hilltop temple
site, at times violently.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1712 hrs