KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday asked the state government to provide its view on a plea alleging that police used excessive force and imposed illegal restrictions during Thrissur Pooram. The petition was filed by P Sudhakaran of Thrissur, who claims that the police obstructed the spiritual procession, and disrupted rituals and customs that have been followed for a long time. He alleged that the police manhandled people who were holding the ‘kuthuvilakku’ in front of the procession.
“The police is expected to cooperate with devaswom officials and priests to ensure the smooth conduct of religious ceremonies by regulating the crowd. However, the police acted like authoritarian dictators and interfered with traditional practices,” the petitioner said.
He has also requested that the government create appropriate guidelines to govern the conduct of police authorities during religious festivals and temple ceremonies.