Sabarimala protest: Over 3500 people arrested

Agencies

October 29, 2018

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 29: The Kerala Police has arrested at least 3505 protesters till now in connection with violence that broke out in the state earlier this month over Supreme Court's verdict on Sabarimala Temple.

Besides this, around 529 cases have been registered across the state till Sunday.

Last week, the police had issued a lookout notice for 210 people, suspected to be involved in instigating violence, manhandling journalists and devotees at Nilakkal, Pamba and Sabarimala over the entry of women in the shrine.

Several protests were staged after the doors of the Lord Ayyappa's temple opened on October 17 for the first time in compliance with the apex court's verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the shrine.

On September 28, a five-member constitutional bench headed by then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had allowed the entry of women of a menstrual age (10 to 50) in the temple.

However, not a single woman could enter the shrine owing to the widespread protests across the state. The temple closed down for the month on October 22 after it opened for five days as a monthly ritual in the Malayalam month of Thul.

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Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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