Kerala violence continues, more than 1,700 arrested

Wide-spread violence marred the state in the hartal called by right-wing groups on Thursday.

So far 1,718 people have been arrested in connection with the violence in the last two days and 1,108 cases registered till Friday evening. As many as 1,009 people have been taken into preventive custody. In the violence, 174 people, including 132 police personnel and 10 mediapersons were injured.

According to sources in the BJP, the proposed visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday may be “postponed”. “The PM’s visit to Pathanmathitta on January 6 was postponed due to some other engagements. Though it has nothing to do with the current situation, we don’t want to aggravate the situation further,” a senior BJP functionary said as per a media report. This was to be the Prime Minister’s first political rally in south India this year. 

A Lankan woman below 50 succeeded in gaining entry into the Ayyappa shrine here on Friday. While sources in Vijayan’s office and the police confirmed that the 47-year-old Sasikala entered the shrine and offered prayers, the woman said she was turned away by police. However, police later released CCTV visuals of the woman and her husband Sarvanan inside the shrine. But it is not clear if she climbed the pathinettampadi (holy 18 steps) to reach the sanctum sanctorum.