Activist Trupti Desai and Bhumata Brigade supporters were detained by local police in Nashik on Monday when they tried to enter Trimbakeshwar temple, which doesn't allow women into its inner sanctum, reported NDTV. Earlier in the day, Desai had said that around 150-200 women will march to the Maharashtra temple on the occasion of Maha Shivratri.

Desai had said she was confident the police would not detain anyone from the group as they have the support of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Desai, who is the president of the Bhumata Brigade, had earlier led a protest march demanding women be allowed to enter the inner sanctum of the Shani Shingnapur temple in the state’s Ahmednagar district.

Shrikant Gaidhani, a trustee of the Trimbakeshwar temple, criticised Desai, and said her movement is politically motivated. Another trustee, Kailas Ghule, had tried to justify the ban on women, saying even men are not allowed inside the inner sanctum for an hour every day between 6 am and 7 am. He added that women can worship from outside the core area, PTI reported.