PAMBA: Suhasini Raj, a New York Times reporter, who started ascending Sabarimala as part of her assignment to cover the happenings was forced to come back following protests on route. She completed half an hour of her walk at Marakoottam point with heavy police escort.She was taken away by the police to Pamba police guard room. ADGP Anil Raj and IG Manoj Abraham have now reached there to speak to her.Though the prohibitory orders are in place by district administration of Pathnamthitta at Sannidhanam and Pamba also, police could not prevent the protesters who merged with the pilgrims making it difficult for cops to identify them. As news spread that she is climbing, protests greeted her catching police unawares by the large number of people.Suhasini stopped her ascend at Apachimedu and is now returning to Devaswom Board Guard point where IG is stationed. She was accompanied by a team of cops. The main task of the police was to keep her safe from the men who had allegedly started ascending the hill tailing her.She said that stones were being thrown at her. She could reach up to Malakoottam before hordes of protesters stopped her.They used abusive language, she told media when she got back. She was very disturbed by the intensity of the protests.A group of protesters are halting at Appachimedu, in anticipation of any further similar attempts to ascend the hill. They said that they would block any woman in the formerly banned age limit, who attempts to ascend. Navaneeth Krishna, a person among the protesters, claimed that the reports on stone pelting are wrong and they had staged a sit-in on the trekking path to block the journalist. The protesters have been showering abuses at media personnel as well.

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