Aymanam panchayat, near Kottayam, witnessed a tense situation on Tuesday when members of the Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha raised suicide threats following a move by the authorities to demolish a building owned by the religious movement on the basis of a court order.
The drama began to unfold in the morning when officials of the Aymanam panchayat along with a huge police contingent, following an order issued by the Kerala High Court to raze down the building, reached the location. They were confronted by the members of the religious group, who had positioned themselves on the building with bottles of kerosene.
Discussions held
As the police team advanced, the protesters threatened to immolate themselves and raised slogans. With the stand-off continuing for hours, the district administration intervened in the issue. A team led by Subcollector Rajeev Kumar Choudhary and the Deputy Superintendent of Police held discussions with the protesters in a bid to diffuse the situation.
Following the discussions, the protesters agreed to hand over the property to the panchayat. “The protesters were soon evicted and we returned after pasting an order of acquisition of the property on the building,” said an official.
The Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha centre, which has been in operation at the location since 1962, serves a prayer hall to the believers. The High Court ordered its demolition based on a petition filed by a local resident seeking the right of way.
