Kerala man attacked for supporting four young women who wanted to enter Sabarimala

"First they asked if I’m Sangeeth. Then they asked if I’m the person who wants to let women of all ages to enter Sabarimala. Following this they started beating me up,” recalls Sangeeth.

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Sangeeth, a native of Nilambur in the Malappuram district of Kerala had gone to attend a festival at the Karakode temple near his house when a group of men surrounded him and started assaulting him.

“There were around 10 to 30 men. First they asked if I’m Sangeeth. Then they asked if I’m the person who wants to let women of all ages to enter Sabarimala. Following this they started beating me up, especially on my head,” said Sangeeth who had got treated at the Nilambur Taluk hospital told TNM.

Sangeeth had accompanied three women - Reshma Nishanth, Shanila Satheesh and VS Dhanya- during their press conference earlier this month to express their desire to visit the Sabarimala Temple. While the women too are facing threats, Sangeeth was assaulted by a group, believed to consist of members of the RSS and BJP.

Speaking to TNM, Sangeeth said that the incident took place around 11 pm on Wednesday night after he along with his friend was walking back home after having a bath at a pond near the Karakode temple.

After the Supreme Court came out with the verdict on September 28 allowing the entry of women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple, Sangeeth had put up a Facebook post saying that he will climb Sabarimala along with women devotees aged between 10 and 50. “The three women (Reshma, Shanila and Dhanya) got in touch with me after the post and that was how I attended the press conference along with them,” says Sangeeth.

Sangeeth said even though his head was hurting, he had waited the entire night and went to the Nilambur Taluk hospital only on Thursday morning, after which he was put under observation till the evening. The area behind his ears and head were severely swollen. Around 4 pm on the same day, he was discharged.

Though his house is in Nilambur, Sangeeth has been working in Guruvayoor. But he tells TNM that he hasn’t been to Guruvayoor in a couple of weeks as he has been receiving threats that there will be attacks targeted at his house there.

Speaking to TNM, Binu, the Sub Inspector (SI) of the Vazhikadavu police station said that a formal case has not yet been registered but they have taken Sangeeth’s statement.

The three women who belonged in the age group of 10 to 50 spoke to the media on November 19 and said that they were also wearing the ‘mala’ that devotees wear when they begin the 41-day fast before visiting the temple. Reshma Nishanth, a teacher among them, had created news when she announced her decision to visit the temple on a Facebook post and has since been threatened.