Jayamala named accused in Sabarimala case
Kannada film actress Jayamala was chargesheeted on Tuesday by the Kerala police for her visit to the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala four years ago in violation of the temple rules.
An official confirmed that the chargesheet has been filed at the Ranni First Class Judicial Court and the actress has been named as the third accused. The first accused in the case is astrologer P. Unnikrishnan; the second accused is his assistant Reghupathy.
The charge sheet says that the accused were involved in a deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings under section 295 of the Indian Penal Code.
The Sabarimala controversy broke out in June 2006, when Jayamala claimed that she entered the holy temple in 1987 at the age of 18 and touched the deity, violating the age-old temple tradition that women, who have attained puberty but have not reached menopause, are barred from entering the temple. The actress also claimed that she now wanted to do penance for her sin. Following the controversy, the State government appointed a Crime Branch team to probe the issue.
