Only 200 devotees visited Sabarimala out of pure devotion, rest were political cadres - report

Only 200 out of 7,300 people who visited Sabarimala during Chithira Attam festival had visited the temple with pure devotional intentions, while the rest were political cadres from different parties, an analysis done by the Kerala police revealed.

The analysis comes just days after Sabarimala Temple was re-opened on Monday and Tuesday. According to a Times of India report, the rest of the devotees who visited the temple belonged to various organizations and political parties including BJP and RSS.

The Supreme Court (SC) verdict allowing women's entry to the Sabarimala temple resulted in many protests which led to several fights and police action. Many people who attended the festival were also present for last months protests and fights when the temple was opened for the first time after the court order.

The SC verdict had created quite a stir nationwide and several protests had taken place against the entry of menstruating women inside the temple premises.

TOI also reported that police used face recognition software to identify people who visited the temple on Monday and Tuesday. "Those who visited the temple this time and who were involved in street-fights with the police last month have been identified by the software. Such people are being put under observation as the temple again opens for the Mandalam-Makaravilakku festival on the evening of November 16," an officer told the daily.

Despite tight security in and around the temple, the protesters had created tense situations for the security officers on duty. The police arrested 3,741 people from across the state and nearly 550 cases have been registered so far.