PATHANAMTHITA: Pathanamthitta Munsiff Court has remanded 69 persons, arrested from Sannidhanam, to 14 days’ judicial custody. They will be shifted to Poojappura Central jail.

The other day the police had arrested 70 persons, alleging that they had violated prohibitory orders and assembled unlawfully. Among them, one person was excluded and 69 persons were produced in the court. When they were being presented in the court, BJP leader Shobha Surendran and Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam were also present at the court premise.

The police had earlier got information from Intelligence that Sangh Parivar activists in groups had concentrated in different areas of Sabarimala in violation of Section 144. Based on this report, the police have been secretly collecting information about them since Sunday morning. For this, they even verified the ID of daily labourers who had come to take food from Devaswom board mess and collected their phone numbers.

On Sunday at around 8 pm, hundreds of devotees gathered at Nadapanthal area and agitated against the restrictions imposed by police. Due to early incidents of violence at the hill-top shrine, police had imposed strict restrictions on devotees at Sannidhanam; devotees were not allowed to stay back in Sannidhanam once the temple closed at 10 pm.

The devotees, who were asked to leave Sannidhanam gathered at Nadapanthal, a covered pathway to the hill-top shrine, formed a group and started chanting Saranam.

Soon after this, a posse of armed policemen under SP Pratheesh Kumar reached the spot. Main protesters assured the police that they would disperse once Harivasanam was heard. When they were about to disperse after Harivarasam, police got ready to arrest protestor Rajesh and two others. This lead to agitation and arguments.

As the quarrel worsened, more policemen took positions at the area. The protesters asked the police to arrest all the protesters and not just three persons
The protesters then moved to Pandithavalam and chanted Saranam. The SP contacted IG Vijaya Zakare, who asked him to carry out the arrest of all persons. Thus finally 70 persons were arrested.