Sabarimala: Violence breaks out as 2 women attempt to enter temple

Sabarimala, Jan 16: A fresh violence broke out at Sabarimala after two women, reportedly in their 30s, tried to enter the Ayyappa temple shrine on Wednesday.

Two women on their way to Sabarimala Temple were surrounded by a large number of protesters around 1 km after they crossed the base camp at Neelimala. Police at the spot.

Near 2000 devotees have gathered near the base camp near the hilltop shrine.

Earlier on Tuesday, Narendra Modi today ripped into Kerala's Left-led government and the opposition Congress over the handling of the Sabarimala temple issue since the Supreme Court verdict ended the shrine's traditional ban on women of reproductive age. Amid the massive protests -- against the verdict and the women who reached Sabarimala -- the state government had said it was duty-bound to implement the top court's orders.

The state's stand had drawn enormous criticism from the right-wing groups who had hit the streets over the issue. Attacks also came from the BJP, which has been trying to expand its footprint in the state.