Sabarimala: Case filed against actor Thulasi for ‘women must be ripped apart’ comment

Actor Kollam Thulasi alias Thulasidharan Nair passed a shocking statement on Friday, October 12, saying women who come to enter Sabarimala temple in Kerala must be ripped in half. The revered shrine of Lord Ayyappa was thrown open after the Supreme Court verdict.

In a recent development on Saturday, police has registered case against actor Kollam Thulasi for his speech at the protest rally, reported news agency ANI.

According to reports, the bizarre remark made by the Bharatiya Janata Party supporter at an NDA rally did not end here. He went on to say that after ripping apart women entering the Sabrimala temple in half, one half should be thrown at the Chief Minister's Office in Thiruvananthapuram while the other half should be sent to Delhi.

“You mothers should go to Sabarimala. Because some women will come there. They should be torn into two pieces. One portion should be thrown to Delhi and another to the room of the chief minister. I know, you are not going… because you are all educated and sensible… Ayyappan has started working.. the mind of Devaswom minister has started changing,’’ said Thulasi.

He was speaking at an event in Kollam where he shared the stage with BJP state president PS Sreedharan Pillai. Thulasi, a BJP member and the party’s candidate from Kundra in Kollam during the 2016 assembly elections, issued the threat at a ‘Save Sabarimala’ campaign organised by constituents of BJP-led NDA, such as Bharath Dharma Jena Sena, to protest against the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages entry into Sabarimala. Kollam Kanjaveli Kuttilazhikathu Thulasidharan Nair is an actor in Malayalam cinema

On September 28, apex court last month revoked the century old ban on women between 10 to 50 years from entering the Sabarimala temple.

Supreme Court verdict of allowing women of menstruating age to the shrine has drawn criticism from several quarters.

Temple authorities had said the ban was essential to the rites related to the temple's chief deity, lord Ayyappa, considered eternally celibate.

The state of Kerala has witnessed widespread protests, and review petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court — which recently refused to urgently hear one of them.

The Sabarimala temple opens on October 17 for a monthly puja. Rahul Easwar, the leader of the Ayyappa Dharma Sena, said thousands of devotees will lie down on the path leading to the temple, adding that if women want to enter, they can walk on the lying devotee's chests with their boots and slippers.

This story was updated at 11.50 am to include the latest developments in the case