Kochi, October 17: Activist Rahul Easwar, who was leading the protest against Supreme Court's Sabarimala verdict, has been arrested by the police from Nilakkal base camp and a non-bailable FIR has been issued against him. The Kerala activist has been kept at Pamba police station, reported news agency ANI. Easwar is the grandson of the former head priest of the Sabarimala temple. Sabarimala Temple Women's Entry: Female Journalists Attacked by Protesters; Watch Videos.

Easwar while defending himself was quoted as saying to ANI that, "I didn't hit any woman there. I was moving to the other direction. It's a vendetta against me." History of Sabarimala: Why Women Weren't Allowed Into The Lord Ayyappa Shrine.

Apart from Rahul Easwar, many other people were taken into police custody for protesting against the entry of women between the age of 10 and 50 years into Sabarimala temple. After the historic judgement by the Supreme Court, the gates of Sabarimala Shrine were opened to women today, but protesters blocked women from heading to the temple. The police were prompted to lathi charge after the protesters went violent.

During the demonstrations, many female journalists were attacked by the violent protesters. The journalists working for NDTV, Aaj Tak, Republic TV, CNN-News18 and The News Minute (TNM) were targeted and abused by protesters. Saritha Balan of TNM was first to be targeted by Karma Samithi activist who attacked the bus in which she was travelling and tried to pull her out.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 17, 2018 05:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).