Connect with us

Regional

Women throng to pray at Shani temple after ban lifted

Published

9 years ago

on

shaniAhmednagar (Maharashtra) :A day after the Shri Shaneshwar Devasthan (Shani Shingnapur Temple) Trust’s historic vote for gender equality, thousands of women from different parts of Maharashtra thronged to worship Lord Shanidev here on Saturday, officials said.

Since early morning, hundreds of women visited the temple premises to offer oblation (abhishek) after an over four century bar was lifted on Friday.

The entire village wore a festive atmosphere; women were welcomed with smiles and guided to the temple which is located in the centre of the village and the police and security personnel appeared cheerful on Saturday.

The trust officials were optimistic that the move will nearly double the arrival of tourists and devotees from all over the world to Sonai village and the local economy will thrive.

In a decision with far-reaching ramifications, the SSDT on Friday announced that women will be allowed to enter the temple and pray at the inner sanctum that is dedicated to Lord Shanidev.

The Shani Shingnapur temple had barred women for centuries from the inner sanctum that is dedicated to Shani, or Saturn. It is one of a handful of Hindu temples in the country that barred the entry of women.

The first two women to enter the temple on Saturday — Pushpak Kewadkar and Priyanka Jagtap — climbed on the ‘Shani’ platform where the black stone idol is placed.

Later, Bhumata Ranragini Brigade President Trupti Desai and her associates reached the temple, offered prayers and participated in the daily “aarti”.

The surrounding villagers, women activists and political leaders across the state have welcomed the SSDT decision.

Now, all eyes are fixed to the stand of two other major temples — Shri Trimbakeshwar Temple Trust, Nashik and Shri Mahalaxmi Temple Trust, Kolhapur — where women’s entry is banned.

Meanwhile, prominent Mumbai lawyer Ganesh Sovani claimed that the SSDT took the decision in “panic” after some men broke barricades and rushed onto the ‘Shani’ platform on Friday morning.

“With this development, the trust finally buckled under the pressure due to charged atmosphere that got created over there and the permission granted was in panic situation,” Sovani told IANS.

Sovani said that the Bombay High Court order of April 1, 2016 was silent over the issue of “entry of women” since, the public interest litigation filed by activist Vidya Bal and lawyer Nilima Vartak was for implementation of the Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act, 1956.

Sovani said that the act is not “gender oriented” and was carved out to facilitate entry of dalits who were prohibited from entering the temple earlier.

Moreover, he said that when the Supreme Court was dealing with a case filed by Young Indian Lawyers Association over the question of women’s entry into Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, the Bombay High Court should not have entertained any plea at all.

“Things would become complicated if the apex court upholds ‘traditions and customs’ maintained in Kerala, for which even the state government last month filed a fresh affidavit,” Sovani added.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Home

What monkey fled with a bag containing evidence in it: Read full story

Published

3 years ago

on

May 5, 2022

By

The court, generally, considers a person who commit a crime and the one who destroys the evidence, as criminals in the eyes of law. But what if an animal destroys the evidence of a crime committed by a human.

In a peculiar incident in Rajasthan, a monkey fled away with the evidence collected by the police in a murder case. The stolen evidence included the murder weapon (a blood-stained knife).

The incident came to light when the police appeared before the court and they had to provide the evidence in the hearing.

The hearing was about the crime which took place in September 2016, in which a person named Shashikant Sharma died at a primary health center under Chandwaji police station. After the body was found, the deceased’s relatives blocked the Jaipur-Delhi highway, demanding an inquiry into the matter.

Following the investigation, the police had arrested Rahul Kandera and Mohanlal Kandera, residents of Chandwaji in relation to the murder. But, when the time came to produce the evidence related to the case, it was found that the police had no evidence with them because a monkey had stolen it from them.

In the court, the police said that the knife, which was the primary evidence, was also taken by the monkey. The cops informed that the evidence of the case was kept in a bag, which was being taken to the court.

The evidence bag contained the knife and 15 other important evidences. However, due to the lack of space in the malkhana, a bag full of evidence was kept under a tree, which led to the incident.

Continue Reading

Trending