Sabarimala: RSS supporter behind fake photoshoot shaves off half his moustache

Rajesh Kurup, who had become notorious on social media after allegedly staging fake photoshoots when the Sabarimala standoff was its zenith, shaved off half his moustache, The News Minute reported. The publication reported that Kurup posted a picture with half his moustache on social media, and confirmed that the act was done in protest against Sabarimala women entry. THE WEEK could not independently confirm the same.

Kurup's photoshoot that had gone viral on Facebook

Kurup had become a polarising figure after a controversial photoshoot. One image, uploaded on Facebook, showed a person wearing police uniform and boots stomping on Kurup, who was dressed as a devotee and holding on to an Ayyappa idol. Another showed someone threatening Kurup, donned in religious black, with a knife. As a controversy erupted, the photos were removed from Facebook. Upon the complaint of a DYFI leader, he was later booked.  

Violence had erupted after an umbrella organisation of various pro-Hindutva groups called for a state-wide shutdown on Thursday, amid protests at several places after entry of two women into the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala. As the news of the women entering the temple spread, protests erupted with right-wing activists blocking highways and forcing closure of shops and markets. Media personnel, reporting from outside the state secretariat, were allegedly attacked by BJP and Yuva Morcha activists.