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  India   At Trimbakeshwar temple, women & children beaten up

At Trimbakeshwar temple, women & children beaten up

AGE CORRESPONDENT
Published : Apr 21, 2016, 6:55 am IST
Updated : Apr 21, 2016, 6:55 am IST

Swarajya Mahila Sanghatna activists and children, led by president Vanita Gatte, were allegedly beaten up by priests, a former municipal president and villagers when they attempted to enter the sanctu

Swarajya Mahila Sanghatna activists and children, led by president Vanita Gatte, were allegedly beaten up by priests, a former municipal president and villagers when they attempted to enter the sanctum of Trimbakeshwar Temple in Nashik on Wednesday morning.

The assistant superintendent of police (ASP), Dr Pravin Mundhe, said cases had been registered under various sections of the IPC and The Maharashtra Hindu Places of Public Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act. Section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) has also been applied.

“We are checking the footage and identifying the people in the alleged assault. We have the names of the accused and will soon proceed with arrests,” the ASP told this newspaper.

Ms Gatte said that they queued up for darshan at the allotted time. “The priest told me that I was wearing a cotton sari and told me to enter with wet clothes, so I went out and did as I was told. But by this time a menacing mob, including a sizeable number of women, barred our way,” Ms Gatte said.

“In the confusion, we were pushed, punched, thrown on the ground and kicked. My little son was punched in his face by these inhumans. Those beating us included former president of Trimbak Municipal Council Angha Phadke, priests Dhananjay, Yogesh and Prashant, all Tungars,” she said. She alleged that the accused threw some chemical on them which caused an itch.

Cases against these four persons and a hundred unidentified persons have been registered with the Trimbakeshwar police station. Trimbakeshwar trustees and administrators did not pick up calls.

One said “wrong number” and later refused to answer the call. This is the third time that Ms Gatte has been refused entry to the temple. On Tuesday, Ms Gatte and other activists were delayed due to the heavy queue. She had claimed that the temple administration was deliberately using tactics to deny them entry, while trustee Shrikant Gaidhani had said that darshan was allowed only for one hour.

Bhumata Brigade president Trupti Desai said, “Women should go with sanman (respect). I am going to Trimbakeshwar on April 22 and will take darshan. Let’s see, who stops me.”

Readers may recall that Ms Gatte registered a case on April 14 under The Maharashtra Hindu Places of Public Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act against the Shri Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust (STDT) trustees, priests and villagers, totalling over 200 persons, for allegedly refusing entry to women despite a high court order.