In a major setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Kerala, one of its candidates for the Lok Sabha elections will have to spend at least 14 days in jail even as the state goes to polls on April 23.
Prakash Babu, BJP's candidate in Kozhikode, was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days by a local court in Pathanamthitta in connection with the protests and violence at Sabarimala premises.
As many as eight cases have been filed against Prakash Babu, including attempt to murder a woman.
Sabarimala has been in the middle of high-voltage protests in Kerala ever since the Supreme Court on September 28 lifted the ban on women aged between 10 and 50 from entering the hill shrine.
The BJP, which hopes to open its account in the state, has been at the forefront of the protests accusing the CPI(M)-led state government of showing “unnecessary haste” to implement the top court order.
The apex court, in the meanwhile, has heard a batch of petitions seeking review of its earlier order and has reserved its verdict.
