Bindu to move court after Kerala police refuse to give protection for Sabarimala trek

Bindu Ammini was at Commissioner’s office in Kochi to help activist Trupti Desai and her friends seek police protection to visit Sabarimala temple on Tuesday.
Bindu to move court after Kerala police refuse to give protection for Sabarimala trek
Bindu to move court after Kerala police refuse to give protection for Sabarimala trek
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When an attacker flashed a bottle on her face and started spraying, Bindu Ammini felt a burning sensation. “She thought the man had poured acid on her face,” Nimi Johnson, Bindu’s lawyer, told TNM.

Bindu, who had managed to enter the Sabarimala temple on January 2, was at the office of the Commissioner of Police, Kochi, to help Maharashtra-based activist Trupti Desai and her friends seek police protection to visit the temple on Tuesday. It was when she stepped out to fetch some relevant documents that she was attacked by Sreenath, the State Coordinator of ‘Hindu Helpline,’ a service by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal for Hindus.

Now, as the Kerala police have reportedly refused to provide security to Trupti and four other women, Bindu has decided to file a contempt of court case against the Kerala state government and the Chief Secretary Tom Jose. Advocate Nimi said that they will meet Bindu’s Supreme Court lawyer, Prasanth Padmanabhan, on Wednesday and discuss filing the contempt of court petition.

The Kerala government had made their stand clear that women between 10 and 50 years of age, who wish to visit Sabarimala temple, will not get police protection. AK Balan, Minister of Law, said that a verdict on review petitions in the same matter is pending and that there is uncertainty over women’s entry in the SC’s November 14 judgment, which referred the matter to a seven-judge bench.

After Trupti Desai and Bindu reached the Commissioner's office, Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Devaswom, claimed that they have come with “an agenda”. Some of the protesters, too, called Bindu “an urban naxal” and alleged that she was associated with a party.

Speaking to the media, Bindu said that she was not associated with the RSS or any other parties. "The Kerala government is behaving like the RSS,” she added.

Taking cognisance of the attack against her with pepper spray, Kerala Women’s Commission has ordered a probe in the matter. "It is cruel to have attacked Bindu Ammini, a woman, with pepper spray, in this manner," said Kerala Women's Commission president MC Josephine. She also demanded that the police take strict action against those who have done this cruel act.

Bindu’s lawyer told TNM that apart from burning sensation on her nape and eyes, she also sustained injuries when the police were trying to move her away from the protesters, who had gathered outside the Commissioner’s office. 

Meanwhile, according to reports, Trupti Desai and four other women with her will return to Mumbai as the police have allegedly refused to provide them protection. 

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