The Kerala High Court on Monday made an oral observation, directing the state government to file a report on police atrocities which took place during and after the violent protests at Sabarimala last week.
A petition filed by two people – Suresh Kumar, who runs a tea stall near the Nilakkal Siva temple, and Anoj Kumar, the chairman of the Sabarimala Achara Samrakshana Samiti – stated that the police were harassing them in connection with the violence that broke out in Sabarimala during the protests last week. They also complained that arrests were being made indiscriminately, and in some cases without registering cases.
Hearing the petition, an observation was made that the police must inform the court about action taken against people, including police officers, who were seen damaging vehicles in Pamba and Nilakkal during the protests.
The Kerala police have arrested over 3,345 people and registered 517 cases in connection with the violence that broke out during protests at Sabarimala. Within the last 12 hours, over 500 arrests were made in the Pathanamthitta police station limits, where the Sabarimala temple is located. Around 112 of the arrested has been in demand so far while the others have been released on bail, according to media reports.
The Kerala police took screen grabs of over 210 people suspected to have indulged in violence during the protests in the temple against the Supreme Court order allowing entry of women of all ages.