SABARIMALA: Two days from now, the Kerala Police will heave the biggest sigh of relief once the Lord Ayyappa Temple closes after the five-day monthly poojas. For the past few days, officers with the State Special Branch, Kerala Police’s intelligence wing, have been toiling hard in an aggressive effort to forestall what they have assessed -- violent and disruptive protests at Sabarimala and Pampa by outfits and groups.
Intelligence officers said police personnel in plainclothes have been deployed in Sabarimala and other sensitive spots in the state to collect information about planned disruptions of law and order in Sabarimala following the Supreme Court verdict.
“We have developed a list of people who we think may create problems,” said an intelligence officer. “We have already spotted a dozen troublemakers and whisked them away from Sabarimala, Pampa and other nearby spots. Policemen are everywhere, collecting details and on the look out for information.”
The state police have been under tremendous pressure over the past three days, caught as they are between the proverbial devil and the deep sea. The officers have been talking to different people about possible violence after the opening of Sabarimala temple for the monthly poojas.
Things became much tougher for the intelligence wing after it came under attack from the state government for not showing due diligence in verifying the antecedents of activist Rehana Fathima who attempted unsuccessfully to enter Sannidhanam under police protection amid strong protests from devotees at Nadapandhal.
Following the incident, the government took the stand that activists will not be allowed to make Sabarimala a platform to further their cause and hurt devotees’ sentiments.