Vandalism, intimidation, violence: Mob attacks women journalists at Sabarimala opening

Tribune Web Desk
Nilackal/Pamba (Kerala), October 17

Several journalists—mostly women—covering Sabarimala Temple opening for women were brazenly attacked on Wednesday as devotees engaged in violence to prevent women from entering the temple.

Protesters attacked Republic TV’s Pooja Prasanna in Pathanamthitta’s Nilakkal town while she and her team were on their way to the Pamba base camp.

The News Minute's Saritha Balan said she was travelling in a KSRTC bus full of Sabarimala devotees when a violent mob surrounded them. She was assaulted and intimidated, and when police present tried to form a protective ring around her, she was kicked on her spine and verbally abused. Saritha claimed  that the mob clicked photos and videos as they attacked her, she said in her account to The News Minute.    

CNN-News18's reporter Radhika Ramaswamy said she and her crew were trapped inside their vehicle as a mob of angry men beat their hands against their windows.

India Today reporter Mausami Singh, who was in a bus from Pathanamthitta, said violent protesters pulled her by her hair and slapped her.  

A male reporter nursed a fractured arm and his cameraperson sustained injuries, while a frenzied mob vandalised their crew’s vehicle and broke their camera.

ANI said its reporter Ayushmaan Kumar was attacked by protesters at Nilakkal base camp, where he was clicking photos of some women searching buses for women devotees. Another one of their reporters, Karam Ingerlose, was slapped, his phone snatched and broken for shooting a video in Erumeli. Protesters refused to let him go until he apologised, ANI said.

Journalists have claimed that police presence in several of these places of attack did nothing to deter the mob.

Visuals from the scenes show a rampaging mob intimidating journalists and tapping and surrounding their vehicles.  

The temple opened its gates for women on Wednesday on Supreme Court’s orders in a landmark judgement.

'Shameful'

Twitter was outraged at the violence, with several journalists condemning the attack and intimidation against the press as “shameful”. 

Women are searching vehicles on the route to Sabarimala looking for young women. This is misogyny at its criminal worst. Shame Kerala

— Charmy Harikrishnan (@charmyh) October 16, 2018

Absolutely disgusting how women journalists have been attacked while covering the Sabarimala story. And the protestors propagate this violence in the name of God. And what is the state police doing? Just shameful

— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) October 17, 2018

So to protect a God, his fanatical devotees will kick, punch and beat up women who are doing their job as reporters. Mob behaviour at its worst and incumbent on Kerala government to ensure culprits are arrested asap

— Sidharth Bhatia (@bombaywallah) October 17, 2018

Somewhat ironic that on #DurgaAshtami women are getting beaten up for the equal right to pray in #Sabarimala - and that what the status quoists seek to defend is that our menstrual cycle is dirty. Absolutely shameful.

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) October 17, 2018