A Kerala court on Saturday revoked the bail granted to activist Rahul Easwar after he failed to present himself at Pathanamthitta police station as per his bail conditions set in connection with the Sabarimala temple row, reports said. Easwar had claimed that the police committed a human rights violation with his arrest.
The activist was arrested in Pamba on October 17 after he protested against the Supreme Court’s order allowing women of all ages entry to the temple. Prior to the verdict, women between the ages of 10 and 50 were prohibited from entering the temple.
Easwar was granted bail on October 22 on the condition that he report to the Pathanamthitta police station every Saturday. “On December 8, I was not able to report at the police station as I had to go to Delhi for a TV discussion,” Easwar told The News Minute. “But I had informed the police station that I would be late. By the time, I had arrived on December 9, the police had told the court that I have violated the bail conditions.”
The activist said he would move the Kerala High Court and Human Rights Commission on Monday against this “childish and outrageous act by the police.” He said the police had made exceptions for others. “I have followed all the conditions till now except for this one day, Easwar said. “The police in the past have shifted one or two days here and there for many people and I was just a few hours late. First of all, I have not done any crime. I have been arrested for being part of a social protest.”
No anticipatory bail for Kollam Thulasi
Meanwhile, a principal sessions court in the state rejected actor-turned-politician Thulasidharan Nair, also known as Kollam Thulasi’s, anticipatory bail plea who is facing a case for allegedly making derogatory remarks about women, Mathrubhumi reported. Thulasi had reportedly said that women who enter the shrine should be “ripped apart”.
Tensions have been running high in the state over the Supreme Court verdict. The temple opened on November 16 for the third time since the Supreme Court on September 28 allowed women of all ages to enter the shrine. But so far, no woman between the ages of 10 and 50 has been able to enter the temple due to massive protests.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had organised a shutdown in the state on Friday to “pay homage” to a 49-year-old man who had immolated himself in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram the previous day. Friday’s shutdown was the sixth hartal called by the BJP since October.
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