Sabarimala head priest threatens to close temple doors if women enter, says 'I am with devotees'

Two women braved the protesters to trek the Sabarimala hill on Friday. One of the women, Kavitha Jakkal is a journalist from Mojo TV in Hyderabad. The other woman is an activist, Rehana Fatima. The two women were equipped with body armour and helmets and were nearly 500 mts away from the temple doors when they were asked to turn back. 

They were escorted by over 100 police personnel led by Inspector General S Sreejith.

When they were close to the temple doors, they were called into Inspector Sreejith's office. They realized that the priests had threatened to shut down the temple if women entered in the shrine.

The priests were quoted by Times Now as saying that Sabarimala was not a place to prove a point.

"If the women enter the temple then we will be forced to shut the temple. I will walk out with the keys," Sabarimala temple head priest Kandararu Rajeevaru told media. 

Sreejith, who was leading the security force told NDTV, "I believe I've come here to enforce the Supreme Court order. Those women have the right to visit the temple...I am also an Ayyappa devotee."

"Police will not create any issue in Sabarimala and we don't want a confrontation with you devotees. We are only following the law. I will be discussing with the higher authorities and brief them on the situation," Inspector General S Sreejith told devotees and was quoted as saying by ANI. 

For the past two days, protesters at Pamba and Nilakkal base camps have successfully stopped women from entering the temple. On Thursday, two New York Times journalists were turned away from the temple by the protesters at Pamba.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that no one will be allowed to block women from entering the temple.

However, reports currently say that the Kerala government will file a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict.