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Tight security at Sabarimala
vigil: The Rapid Action Force taking position before the holy steps at the Sannidhanam on Friday. —
SABARIMALA: Sabarimala has been witnessing the tightest ever security cover in its history since Friday morning.
The Ayyappa temple and its surrounding areas have been closely guarded by machine gun-toting commandos of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) attached to the Central Reserve Police Force and the State police in the backdrop of the anniversary of Babri Mosjid demolition on Saturday.
Inspector-General of Police Arun Kumar Sinha, who is also the police coordinator at Sabarimala, told The Hindu that 1,300 police personnel had been deployed at the Sannidhanam alone. This is besides a 114-strong National Disaster Response Force led by Deepak Dev Menon and a company of the Rapid Action Force led by Assistant Commandant N.K. Singh.
A three-layer system has been put in place at the sanctum sanctorum with the commandos of the police in the innermost layer, the RAF in the middle and the State police in the outer layer, Mr. Sinha said.
The Travancore Devaswom Board has opened a counter with police assistance near the Valiyanadappanthal for keeping mobile phones and shoulder bags of pilgrims before ascending the holy steps. Nine cellular phone jammers have been installed on the temple premises and 40 closed-circuit cameras at select points at the Sannidhanam and on the trekking path up to Marakkoottom.
T. Vikram, Police Special Officer, said vessels carrying ghee for neyyabhishekom would be scanned with the help of X-Ray scanners before being taken to the sanctum sanctorum on Saturday.
A bomb detection and defuse squad has been carrying out continuous anti-sabotage checks at the Sannidhanam and along the trekking path.
Pilgrims coming through the Uppupara route have been diverted through a door-framed metal detector.
The Sannidhanam has been witnessing heavy rush of pilgrims.
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