Third woman enters flashpoint Indian temple

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India: Indian police said on Friday that a third woman has defied traditionalists to enter one of Hinduism’s holiest temples, stoking tensions after two days of clashes that left some 275 people injured.

The Sabarimala temple in the southern state of Kerala has been at the centre of a prolonged showdown since India’s top court overturned in September a ban on women aged 10 to 50 setting foot inside. Before dawn on Wednesday two women in their 40s, escorted by police, wrong-footed devotees to become the first to access the shrine since the landmark verdict, sneaking in via a side entrance.