Ayyappas beaten up like Cattle in Sabarimala

Disturbing reports are seen that policemen on duty at Sabarimala have been beating up devotees after creating artificial crowding. Pilgrim flow to the Sannidhanam from Pampa is halted or held back at very frequent intervals and unnecessary delays created. The intervening segments between cordons are so lengthy that the crowd grows bigger in the queues. The wait goes on upto 16 hours and more during which pilgrims are not allowed to move away from the queue even to answer calls of nature. The Janmabhumi daily reported on the 22nd that the sight of malikappurams passing urine right in the queue was most stressful. The tired and hungry pilgrims are not allowed by the idiotic cops even to sit down.  Even when there is no rush at the Sreekoil, devotees are held back with rope cordons for hours. Pilgrims from other states are frequently beaten up like cattle.

One wonders if lord Ayyappa has rendered all these law enforcers mad and nutty so that they may atone for sin later in life.  Two policemen of Trivandrum AR Camp who beat up pilgrims and grabbed the poonool [holy thread] of a pilgrim have been sent back and departmental action has been recommended against them by an ADGP.

Creation of artificial delays and crowded queues is attributed to manipulating more complaints that would render the proposal to widen the 18 steps easier to implement. The work would benefit contactors and officials. This is similar to the government’s making private bus owners go on strikes so that harried passengers might themselves ask for raise in fares.

The VHP and the Sabarimala Ayyappa Seva Samajam have warned the authorities that they must not forget themselves in harassment of pilgrims under the delusion that there is nobody to care about them. Sri. Kummanam Rajasekharan has called for stringent action against the erring policemen.

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