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Mausami decided to board a bus to question a woman who had been forced to return from Lord Ayyappa's shrine. "I did not know that my decision would be a nightmare," she wrote. (Photos: @ mausamii2u and @ani on Twitter)
As we stopped midway between Nilakkal and Pamba to pull up our footage, a government bus from Kerala also stopped in front of the tea stall.
I saw Madhvi sitting in a bright pink saree, looking out the window, and I asked my VJ Sanjay to rush with the camera. Madhvi had been heckled by protesters in Pamba and forced to leave the sanctuary of Lord Ayyappa. I did not know that my decision would be unfold in a nightmare it would expose violence and venom spreading in the name of religion.
Some men sitting in the back seat saw us signaling themselves and got up aggressively to object. They blocked the camera and said we could not shoot.
While I was reporting, they told the driver to start the bus. To prevent us from reporting, they forced the ticket collector to ask us to buy tickets. I told the TT to stop the bus, but he asked us to pay instead; he would not stop the bus. I knew we were heading towards danger. Nilakkal was a source of trouble, but the doors were locked. We could not go down.
At that moment, the bus reached Nilakkal and its door opened to dozens of people standing as if waiting for a signal to attack. They started booing us. One of the men from inside told them something in Malayalam. I only understood the word "Sabarimala".
I realized we had big problems. I wanted to get out of the situation, but I was watching an angry crowd that was more agitated. My video reporter (VJ) Sanjay and I tried to pacify the crowd. "I did not go to the temple, it's not true," I say but the crowd did not want to listen.
READ ALSO | Beaten, hair drawn: India Today reporter suffers horrific attack from protesters in Sabarimala
Suddenly, the situation got worse. My dupatta was fired. Someone booed, and suddenly, someone slapped my VJ. I knew we had to act quickly. I started walking without direction, looking for help … while the men mumbled angrily, the crowd worried more. Then the strike began. I was hit and pushed.
Just in time, two policemen came to our rescue. We hurried to the police bus which was still a few steps away. At that moment, each step looked like one kilometer, every second to an hour. While I thought the nightmare was over, the stones had started, and then someone caught me by the hair and pulled, it hurt, but who cared about it. Some were looking for revenge – and others to take advantage of my plight. I knew I was on the threshold of safety. I had to get on the bus, but then I felt that I was falling into a black hole where men scratched me.
It was this last step that I had to go through to get back to life, because the last minutes were like a burn in hell … "Come on Mausami," I said to myself.
Just then, I was hit in the head, then it was dark for a moment. Then I crawled on the bus floor … my VJ m got in.
WATCH | India Today reporter suffers horrific attack from protesters in Sabarimala
