Kolhapur: Bhumata Brigade activist Trupti Desai was thrashed in the Mahalaxmi temple, Kohlapur, as she entered into sanctum sanctorum of the temple by defying the dress code prescribed by police and priests.
Desai said that the women devotees as well as the priests who were present inside the temple used abusive language. She alleged that her attackers said, “Don’t let Trupti Desai get out alive.”
Notwithstanding the advice given by the police to wear sari inside 'girbh griha' of the temple, the woman activist entered the inner sanctum in salwar kameez though some priests and devotees tried to block her way.
Just before this, Desai and other activists were taken into preventive custody by police when they tried to proceed towards the temple in a procession allegedly in violation of prohibitory orders.
She and other activists had organised the 'Vijay' rally yesterday to mark "victory" for the cause of women who were recently allowed to enter the inner sanctum of the temple in a major departure from the long-standing tradition.
Desai and her associates were stopped in Tararani Chowk by police where they had gathered to organise the procession.
The atmosphere around the temple was tense and shops downed shutters as activists of Shiv Sena and other organisations gathered in the area after Desai insisted to take darshan of the deity, clad in salwar kameez instead of sari, the formal dress code suggested by police and priests.
