Thiruvananthapuram: Activist and president of Ayyappa Dharma Seva Rahul Easwar was granted bail by Kerala high court on December 21. He was granted bail on the strict condition that he should not enter Pamba for two months.

Earlier on December 17, Rahul Easwar was arrested from a government rest house in Palakkad.

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The Ranni court on December 15 ordered the arrest of Easwar in reply to the application filed by the Kerala Police. They said that Easwar was not obeying bail conditions and hence his bail should be cancelled.

The court had granted him bail under strict conditions including, presenting himself before the police officers every week. Easwar failed to appear before police officers and that led to his arrest. 

Earlier, Easwar was arrested on October 17 for protesting the Supreme Court verdict allowing the entry of women between the age of 10 to 50 years into the Sabarimala temple. He was granted bail by a local court on October 22. The court had granted him bail under strict conditions but Easwar failed to obey them.

The Pamba Police charged him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 143 (unlawful assembly) and 147 (rioting). The non-bailable charge against him was under Section 353 for deterring police personnel from discharging their duty.

Earlier, there was another controversy when Easwar claimed that 20 Lord Ayyappa devotees, who opposed the entry of women in the age group of 10 to 50, were ready to inflict knife injures upon themselves within the temple premises, which forced the priests to close the Sabarimala temple.
 
On November 24, Easwar was on his way to Sabarimala with the irumudi (an offering for Lord Ayyappa) when the police detained him at Nilakkal. Later, the police allowed him to go, on the condition that he should not visit Sabarimala. While returning home, Easwar said that police was indulging in serious violation of human rights and he would appeal to the high court.