Ashram pro-women's Sabarimala entry attacked

Thiruvananthapuram: The ashram of Swami Sandeepananda Giri, who supported the Supreme Court verdict allowing the entry of women of all ages at Sabarimala, was set on fire by unidentified assailants early on Saturday.

Two cars, a bike and a portion of the ashram building located at Kundamankadavu, six km from the city, were destroyed in the incident. The assailants also placed a wreath in front of the Ashram gate.

According to police, the incident took place around 2.45 a.m. The fire was first spotted by the inmates of the ashram who alerted the swami. Soon, two fire tenders were rushed to the spot which extinguished the fire. The area was cordoned off by the police even as senior police officers arrived at the ashram.

The police have got some leads on the possible attackers. In the footage captured by the CCTV cameras installed at Kundamankadavu devi temple, a person is seen suspiciously moving on the road adjacent to the ashram around 2.52 a.m. The police believe he could be one of  the assailants. However, his identity was not known.

The temple administration had initially refused to provide the CCTV footage. However, after the police exerted pressure, they shared the decisive footage.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who visited the ashram, said there was a heinous conspiracy behind the attack and that it was aimed at eliminating Sandeepananda Giri.

“This is an attempt to destroy the secular fabric of our state.  Sandeepananda has always been targeted by Sangh Parivar because he has exposed their real face. The Sangh Parivar does not realise that the real swamis are not afraid of such attacks. They may influence fake swamis through threats or lure,” he said.

The assailants wanted to murder the swami, he said and added, “this time they destroyed the ashram. But these forces will continue such heinous attacks. The ashram should function with new vigour and all secular forces must take up the responsibility to make it happen,” he said.

A special investigation team has been constituted under the Cantonment assistant commissioner to probe the incident. Forensic experts visited the site and collected crucial evidence.

Swami Sandeepananda said the attempt was to trigger riots by setting the ashram on fire. The Thazhamon tantri family, Pandalam former royals and BJP state president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai were responsible for the attack, he alleged.

“Rahul Easwar started all this.  They wanted to turn the state into a battlefield. They cannot shy away from the responsibility now. Tomorrow they might set me on fire. They are capable of doing anything. But I am not afraid of such attacks and I will continue to expose these forces,” he said.

Last Sunday, the Hindu Aikya Vedi had taken out a march to Sandeepananda Giri's ashram. The posters of the march are still there on the ashram walls.

The swami, who publicly supported the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala, had come under sharp criticism and abusive reaction on the social media mainly from Sangh Parivar outfits.  He countered their claims about ‘Naishtika bramachayra’ concept of Lord Ayyappa quoting from religious books. During the past fortnight, the swami had locked horns with the tantri family representative Rahul Easwar and BJP leaders.

Meanwhile, the police is questioning a person in connection with the attack on the ashram. Mohanan, a resident of Valiyavila, was working as security staff at the ashram. He was removed from the job two days ago following some differences with the swami.

During the investigation, it was found that the person who was seen in the temple CCTV camera footage is not related to the incident. He had come there to show the way to fire force staff.