The elder sister and nephew of Dalit activist Ammini were brutally attacked on Sunday, allegedly by RSS workers. While Santha, Ammini's sister, was attacked at their house near Sultan Bathery in Wayanad, Santha’s son Prafulla Kumar was attacked when he had gone out to get his wages.
Both attacks happened around 8 am on Sunday. Both Santha and Prafulla have been injured on their head. They have been admitted at the Community Health Centre, Sultan Bathery. The assailants allegedly asked them to chant ‘Saranam Ayyappa’ to praise Lord Ayyappan while they carried out the attack.
Santha is 46 years old and Prafulla Kumar is 22 years old. Santha was alone at home when the attack happened.
Ammini, along with four other women, had made a failed attempt to enter the Sabarimala shrine on December 23. Since then, she has been facing threats from people who are opposed to women’s entry into the temple.
"Their target was Ammini. But since her house is not easy to reach as it is located at the bottom of a slope, they attacked her relatives. The threat was there for a while," KV Prakash, District Committee member of the CPI (ML) of Wayanad told TNM. He has been backing Ammini in her cause.
“There were eight to ten people in the gang. There were some RSS workers who can be identified and others who can’t be identified. They had carried knife and iron rod,” Prakash added.
Ambalavayal police have registered a case on the crime. “But we haven’t yet been able nab any of the accused. We have searched the houses of those accused who can be identified, but they had fled the place after the attack. As far as the information we got, Santha was also attacked on the road. They both are injured but the injuries are not serious,” Ambalavayal Sub Inspector Abbas Ali said.
The attack is the latest instance of violence against the women in the menstruating age who either attempted to worship at Sabarimala, or supported other women who want to, following the Supreme Court order allowing entry to women of all ages in Sabarimala.