S Sreejith broke down in front of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala on October 22. A photograph capturing his emotion had gone viral. Following the controversy of the Kerala government appointing an Ayyappa devotee cop, he was relieved from Sabarimala duty.
Thiruvananthapuram: Inspector General of Police (IGP) S Sreejith has been appointed again as in-charge of the security arrangements in Pamba and Sannidhanam, near Sabarimala. This is as part of the third phase of security arrangements during Sabarimala pilgrimage, which is slated between December 15 and December 30.
S Sreejith was responsible for providing security for women at Sabarimala following the historic verdict by the apex court. Many women had reached Sannidhanam from Pamba under police protection, led by Sreejith soon after. His timely intervention helped to avoid many clashes at the temple and nearby places.
ALSO READ: Ten from Kerala head to Syria, Afghanistan to join ISIS
One of the photographs of Sreejith had gone viral. He was seen breaking down in front of the sanctum sanctorum at Sabarimala temple on October 22. Earlier, Sreejith had told people at the temple that he is also a devotee of Lord Ayyappa like them and he does not wish to go forward by crushing devotees. However, the law should be implemented according to the Supreme Court verdict, he added, claiming that it was his duty to protect civilians' rights as well.
People also alleged that the state government had selected IG S Sreejith in the main shrine of Sabarimala temple to attack him emotionally as he is a Hindu and a devotee of Lord Ayyappa.
Some people also alleged that Sreejith was doing his duty enforced upon him by the state government while he was emotionally targeted and troubled. Following this, Sreejith was relieved from Sabarimala duty. It was alleged that this photograph and the controversy around it led to this decision.
Earlier, the BJP state general secretary AN Radhakrishnan had filed a complaint with the Kerala DGP Lokanath Behara against IG S Sreejith and Manoj Abraham alleging that these two police officials tried broke the rules to escort women into the shrine.
In Radhakrishnan's complaint, IG S Sreejith and Manoj Abraham had violated Section 43 of the Kerala police act. According to Section 43, police uniforms cannot be worn by people those who are not in service. According to the BJP's complaint, the accused had deliberately given their uniforms to escort women into Sannidhanam.
IG Sreejith made it clear then that they hadn't given their police uniforms to women, but had provided their helmets and security shields alone to avoid violence in the temple.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.