Sabarimala Standoff: Did An Ayyappa Devotee Commit Suicide?

A tweet from a handle @PartyVillage017 on January 2, 2019, at 5:14pm claimed that an Ayyappa devotee has committed suicide following the entry of two women at the Sabarimala shrine.

The tweet received 1000 likes, 1300 retweets and 135 comments. “Another Ayyappa devotee commits suicide. Jayarajan of Valancheri committed suicide after the desecration of the #Sabarimala temple by Maoist women activists. He is the fourth devotee to die brokenhearted in 2 months. #SabarimalaTemple is such an emotive issue here," the tweet said.

Another Ayyappa devotee commits suicide.

Jayarajan of Valancheri committed suicide after the desecration of the #Sabarimala temple by Maoist women activists. He is the fourth devotee to die brokenhearted in 2 months. #SabarimalaTemple is such an emotive issue here. pic.twitter.com/0tLhx7xZCv

— We never quit. (@PartyVillage017) January 3, 2019

A right-wing Twitter handle @ShankhNaad, known for tweeting communal sensitive images and videos also tweeted the same information claiming that "this blood is in the hands of those who violated our faith."

Broken over desecration of #Sabarimala, Ayyappa devotee Jayaraj Swamy has taken his own life.
Many more, i hear.

This blood is in the hands of those who violated our faith.
And those, who watched in silence.

This will not go unanswered pic.twitter.com/u6TmN6o6QQ

— ShankhNaad (@ShankhNaad) January 3, 2019

Several Facebook posts also went viral with the same narrative.

However, BOOM's fact check reveals that Jayarajan had committed suicide on January 1, 2019 at around 8pm.

Pramod P, Station House Officer at Valanchery Police Station, who dealt with the suicide case said that Jayarajan's suicide was not linked to the controversy around entry of women at Sabarimala.

Reading the police report to BOOM, the official said that Jayarajan had committed suicide on January 1, 2019, at around 8pm in his own land behind his house.

“His death was reported by his brother-in-law at the police station. We carried out the procedures and are waiting for the post-mortem report,” Pramod said.

The tweet had claimed that Jayarajan committed suicide after the 'desecration of the #Sabarimala temple by Maoist women activists'.

However, Kanaka Durga and Bindhu Ammini, had trekked to Sabarimala only on January 2, 2019, at around 3:45am and returned at around 4:10am.

It was also widely reported that hours after their entry on January 2 at 10:35am, the chief priest closed the Sabarimala for carrying out purification rituals. The temple was re-opened at 11:25am that day.

But according to the report filed at the police station, Jayarajan’s suicide took place nearly 8 hours before Durga and Ammini's entry at the Sabarimala shrine.