Kerala tense post woman leader's arrest near Sabarimala temple

New Delhi : A Kerala-bandh call has tensed the situation in the state after an arrest of Hindu Aikya Vedi President KP Sasikala early Saturday morning.

She was heading for the Sabarimala temple when the cops arrested her around 1:30 am in the Marakkuttam. According to news reports, she was held for hours after she refused to go back without having early morning darshan on Saturday.

Though she claimed that she was heading to the temple for darshan, the cops suspect that she was going there to organise protest. The leader had earlier staged protest twice outside the temple.

KP Sasikala was taken to Ranni police station, and activists from the Sabarimala Karma Samithi are staging a protest in front of the station house.

As per reports coming in from the area, a state-wide protest has been called in wake of the woman leader's arrest. Buses between Kerala and Coimbatore will not run during the hartal. Milk, newspapers, hospitals and medical shops are among the essential services that have been exempted, according to reports.

Several examinations have been either cancelled or postponed for the day.