Gender activist Trupti Desai and group stuck at Kochi airport

Kochi: Gender activist Trupti Desai and six others were stopped at the airport who arrived here to visit the Sabarimala temple amid protests by Hindu activists.

Desai and her group arrived here at around 0445 hours. They have failed to get out of the airport as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sangh Parivar activists protested right outside.

A female protester said, "We won't allow her to get out of the airport. Why is she so adamant on breaking the tradition of the temple? We are also adamant. We will not let her move out."

ALSO READ: Sabarimala: Supreme Court to hear petitions after considering review pleas

Desai said she would not return without visiting the Lord Ayyappa shrine.

Prior to her arrival, the activist wrote to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan requesting for police protection right from the time she steps out of her plane at Kochi on Friday till she takes her return flight out of the state.

ALSO READ: Gov Ram Naik to inaugurate event on women empowerment in Lucknow

The temple is scheduled to open on Friday at 1700 hours for two months.

The temple town has witnessed protests by Hindu groups and temple tantri 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.

The apex court on Tuesday refused to stay its earlier verdict.