January 03
Widespread stone pelting, blocking of vehicles and incidents of violence and vandalism Thursday marked the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the Hindu outfits in Kerala against the entry of two women of menstruating age into the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala, police said.
The 12-hour long hartal, called by the Sabarimala Karma Samithi, an umbrella organisation of various pro-Hindutva groups, and the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP), hit normal life in the initial hours.
A 55-year-old man, who was seriously injured in stone pelting at Pandalam, died late Wednesday night, police said.
State-run KSRTC buses, which were pelted with stones during the violence on Wednesday by anti-women entry agitators, kept away from roads in many districts.
Adding to the woes of the public, number of autorickshaws plying were very less.
A large number of passengers, including women and children, were seen stranded at bus stands and railway stations across the state.
A 64-year old woman, Pathumma from Wayanad who came for treatment at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) here, collapsed and died at the railway station here in the morning, following which her relatives alleged that a delay in getting ambulance service resulted in her death.
Shops and hotels remained closed in the state capital.
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