Tamil Nadu man arrested for allegedly circulating ‘offensive’ video on Lord Ayyappa

The video created by Selvan, a resident of Tiruninravur, showed Lord Ayyappa allegedly in a bad light with a menstruating woman’s image forming part of the clip.

A 21-year-old man was arrested in Chennai for allegedly circulating an “offensive” video on the social media, purportedly showing a Hindu deity along with a menstruating woman’s image, police said Saturday.

Lord Ayyappa temple at Sannidhanam in Sabarimala. A 21-year-old man was arrested in Chennai for allegedly circulating an “offensive” video on the social media, purportedly showing a Hindu deity along with a menstruating woman’s image, police said Saturday. (Representative Image/PTI File Photo)

The video created by Selvan, a resident of Tiruninravur, showed Lord Ayyappa allegedly in a bad light with a menstruating woman’s image forming part of the clip.

On seeing it on the social media, a Hindu Makkal Katchi functionary lodged a police complaint, following which Selvan was arrested.

“After questioning, we arrested him. He was produced before a court, which remanded him to judicial custody,” a local police official told PTI.

While traditionally the entry of women of menstruating age was barred into the Sabarimala temple, the Supreme Court has, in a recent judgment, paved the way for the entry of women of all age groups into the hill shrine at Kerala.

However, women devotees and volunteers of Hindu groups have held demonstrations, saying they would stick to the customs.