Sabarimala: Kerala HC grants conditional bail to BJP leader Surendran after 20 days

Senior Kerala BJP leader K Surendran who was taken into custody from the Sabarimala base camp town nearly three weeks ago for breaking a security cordon, on Friday December 7 secured bail from the Kerala High Court. He was asked by the court to not enter the Pathanamthitta district—where the Lord Ayyappa shrine is located and also surrender his passport.

The court also asked for a ₹ 2 lakh surety amount as it discharged him in a case involving an attack on a 52-year-old woman, who had arrived at the Sabarimala temple to take part in a ritual of her grandson.

The BJP General Secretary though was picked up on November 17 from Pamba town for breaking a police cordon, was later given a jail time of 20 days as the police reopened 15 other previous cases registered against him for various offenses, including eight in which his arrest warrants were pending.

Surendran who had earlier secured bail in all the other cases, secured bail in the woman-attack case that enabled him to walk out of jail. The BJP leader had been housed at the Central jail in Thiruvananthapuram till now.

Surendran's party colleague A.N. Radhakrishnan was on an indefinite hunger strike in front of the state secretariat for five days now demanding his freedom.

BJP has accused Chief Minister Pianarayi Vijayan of trying to settle political score with the arrest.

Spokesperson M.S.Kumar said this is nothing but settling political scores because State Minister for Devasoms Kadakampally Surendran has more than two dozen cases registered against him and he is walking around freely, BJP spokesperson M.S. Kumar said.

The temple town has witnessed protests by Hindu groups since the September 28 Supreme Court verdict that allowed women of all ages to enter the temple that hitherto banned girls and women aged between 10 and 50.