Twin arson and bomb attacks rocked southern India Saturday, continuing a violent backlash that followed the entry of two women into a Hindu temple that forbids female devotees. The Sabarimala temple in Kerala state has been at the centre of a prolonged showdown between religious hardliners and authorities since September, when India's top court overturned a ban on women aged 10 to 50 setting foot inside.
Police said unidentified attackers hurled a homemade bomb at the home of a politician from the rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and set ablaze the office of its Hindu nationalist parent group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Both are opposed to the court's order to allow women inside the temple. No injuries were reported, police said.
The fresh attacks came hours after unknown attackers bombed the house of a politician linked to the state's ruling Communist Party, which has vowed to implement the court order. One person has died and more than 270 others have been injured since Wednesday, when thousands protested after two women devotees in their 40s prayed inside the temple.