PAMPA: Police sent back Reshma Nishanth and Shanila Sajesh who arrived again for darshan at Sabarimala, for the second time in a week on Saturday.
Clad in black saree and their faces covered, the young women from Kannur claiming to have undergone strict penance for the last two months, reached Nilakkal police control room in two white cars seeking protection.
After an hour-long discussion with officers there, they were transported in a police vehicle in a dramatic way to an undisclosed location at 6.30 am.
To mislead the waiting reporters, senior officers called in two junior women cops and made them wear a shawl overhead. When they moved on the right direction drawing their attention, cops walked the two to their vehicle parked the opposite direction and drove away.
A.K Jamaludheen, the special officer in charge of Nilakkal, said they sent them back after they were convinced about the volatile security situation.
"Since it's the last day (of the season) and no prohibitory orders in place, we got intelligence that there were a lot of protesters under Sabarimala Karma Samithy gathered there. Then they requested us to avoid TV cameras. We escorted them to Erumeli from where they went home in their vehicles," he told DC.
The duo came under the banner of a Facebook group Renaissance Kerala for Sabarimala.
Kanaka Durga Bindu Ammini and Manju of the same group had entered the temple earlier this month the same way giving protesters the slip. Sreyas Kanaran, an admin of the group, who accompanied the two, said that they began journey after getting an assurance from top officers. But the police treated them as terrorists.
"We decided to return after we understood their helplessness," he said.
"The women can't make it alone without a police escort. The state must ensure security to women who desire to worship there. It's not the failure of the two but all women in this country."
But the two were unavailable on the phone. Ms Nishant had earlier vowed not to remove the holly beads wore as part of penance till they manage to enter the temple.
