Sabarimala row: BJP leader K Surendran who was taken into custody, granted bail

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 21: BJP leader K Surendran who was taken into custody last week at Nilakkal for moving towards Sabarimala Temple, has been granted bail on Wednesday by Thiruvalla Court.

Surendran and few other BJP workers reached Nilakkal late in the evening on Saturday and insisted that they wanted to go to Sabarimala.

The police refused to allow K Surendran citing safety concerns of the devotees. This led to an argument and standoff between the cops and the BJP workers in Nilakkal, the base camp to Sabarimala.

Surendran was later taken into protective custody and shifted to Chittar police station.

Surendran was produced before a magistrate at his residence on Sunday and remanded to 14-day judicial custody after he was charged with non-bailable offences. He was booked under Section 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging his duty) and Section 34 (acts done by several persons for the furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Meanwhile, the pilgrimage continues to run smoothly with security heightened in the area. The police have imposed certain restrictions for the devotees who are staying in Sabarimala overnight.

The Sabarimala temple reopened for the third time on Nov 16 for the two-month-long pilgrimage season after the Supreme Court allowed women of menstrual age to offer prayers there.