Kerala: A lawyer, who is on the forefront of the campaign that questions the 1500-year-old tradition of prohibiting entry of women into the hilltop temple of Sabarimala in Kerala, has allegedly got 500 threat calls in recent days.

Naushad Ahmed Khan, President of The Indian Young Lawyers’ Association (IYLA) has informed the Supreme Court that most of the calls were from the US and these callers have threatened to blow up his house if he did not drop the petition in the SC, which had termed the ban to be ‘unconstitutional’.

With threats looming large, as of now Khan has been given a guard by the Delhi Police.

The top court had asked the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the famous Sabarimala temple, to clarify why it prohibits women from entering the shrine dedicated to Lord Ayappan.

However, the Kerala government authorities and temple officials have justified the ban stating that the principle deity of the temple is a celibate and hence allowing women of reproductive age into the temple would be a sin.

The hilltop temple only allows entry to girls aged under 10 and women over 50.

Kerala Temple Affairs Minister VS Sivakumar said earlier this week that the government “will protect the faith and custom” of the temple.