Around 2,300 security personnel, including a 20-member commando team and policewomen above 50, were posted in and around the Sabarimala temple in Kerala on Monday, hours before it was to open for two days. Extra security has been called in after violent protests last month against women who tried to enter the temple following a Supreme Court order ending the ban on women of menstrual age, or between 10 and 50 years, entering the shrine dedicated to celibate god Lord Ayyappa. This is the second time the hilltop temple will open for devotees since the court order in September.
