Priyanandan was attacked for his views on the subject of women’s entry at the Sabarimala shrine. Priyanandan was attacked for his views on the subject of women’s entry at the Sabarimala shrine.

Actor and filmmaker Priyanandan was assaulted near his home in Kerala’s Thrissur district on Friday morning, allegedly over his Facebook post on the Sabarimala temple in which he had used derogatory words.

Priyanandan, 52, had stepped out of his home in Vallachira town at around 9 am when a man slapped him on the face and poured a bucket of water mixed with cow dung over his head. When a crowd gathered, the attacker slipped away.

“He said, ‘Who are you to speak against Ayyappan? This is just the beginning.’ After slapping me near the right ear and pouring the bucket of water mixed with cow dung, he ran away as people gathered…,” Priyanandan told the media.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, “I just heard of the attack on Priyanandan. He has been receiving a lot of threats. This is an indication of the rising intolerance in Kerala. We have to examine what happened today. Such incidents will not be encouraged here.”

Later on Friday, police arrested the attacker and took him into custody. He was identified as Sarovar, 25, and purportedly has ties to the RSS.

Priyanandan says he believes more than one person was involved in the attack. Earlier this month, Priyananda, in a Facebook post, had allegedly used derogatory words to air his views on Sabarimala. After the nature of the language used in the post was criticised by many and had sparked outrage among Hindu outfits, he deleted it.

Friday’s attack is being viewed as payback for the post.

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