It was just past 8 p.m. on September 7, 2025 a sleepy Sunday. The Sabarimala hillock, from its bustling base at Pampa-Triveni to the sacred heights above, was slowly sinking into the stillness of the night.

The Onam festivities at the Ayyappa temple atop the hill had just concluded, and the devotees who thronged the temple in hordes had all gone back. The hill temple, a site that thrums with devotees even during brief pilgrimage periods, was mostly deserted.

The portals of the famed temple remained closed, leaving behind only a handful of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials and priests at the Sannidhanam, the place where the temple is located.

As the hillock slipped into the quietness of the chilly night, the TDB officials, led by the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner (official in char

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