Woman who made history by entering Indian temple 'beaten by mother-in-law with wooden plank'

An Indian woman who made history by entering an ancient Hindu temple has allegedly been beaten with a wooden plank by relatives, for breaching its ban on female worshippers.

Kanaka Durga claims that she was assaulted by her mother-in-law after she returned home following a period in hiding.

She was admitted to hospital with minor head injuries after the attack, according to The Times of India. A police investigation into the assault has been opened.

The 39-year-old became one of the first two women to enter the Sabarimala temple, which is among India's holiest Hindu sites, on 2 January.

Temple staff maintain that women of menstruating age - defined as between the ages of 10 and 50 - are banned from praying at Sabarimala.

But the south Indian state of Kerala, where the temple is located, was thrown into uproar after India's Supreme Court overturned the ban in September 2018.

Kerala's left-wing government has supported the ruling, which has been welcomed by feminists, but temple officials have resisted it.

In January police officers escorted Kanaka Durga and another woman, Bindu Ammini, into the site under the cover of darkness. They are the first women in history to enter Sabarimala.

As the news broke, violent protests swept Kerala and a state-wide strike was called. One person was killed and 15 injured in the unrest.

The demonstrations have become a point of contention between the state's political parties, with India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporting the temple's ban on women.

Ms Durga, who works for a company owned by Kerala's state government, did not tell her family about her visit to Sabarimala.

She has remained in hiding since the trip, fearing retribution from extremists, but returned to her husband's home as her holiday leave ended.

Her family was previously unaware of her whereabouts.