Kochi: In a report to the High Court of Kerala, the Monitoring Committee for Sabarimala criticised the Kerala Police for high-handedness in dealing with a group of devotees from Hyderabad.
The devotees were subjected to ill-treatment by the Police for chanting Lord Ayyappa’s mantras, the report said.
Though the Devasom Board had allowed devotees to chant, the report states that the Inspector General Balaram Kumar Upadhaya had objected this.
The three member Sabarimala Monitoring Committee in its report to the High Court also states that they are facing consistent criticism from certain quarters.
The Committee had on earlier occasions come down heavily on Kerala Police for providing protection for young women visiting the shrine. The committee had observed that these kinds of security measures for a few by the police will put the lives of thousands of genuine devotees at risk.
The Committee consists of Justice P. R. Raman, Justice S. Sirijagan and Director General of Police Hemachandran and is constituted by the High Court of Kerala.
Incidentally, the State Government has approached the Supreme Court against the Monitoring Committee of the High Court of Kerala.
