Rahul Easwar, one of the faces of the Sabarimala protests against the entry of women of childbearing age, was arrested on Sunday for a second time in 11 days before being released on bail.

President of the Ayyappa Dharma Sena and a member of the family of Sabarimala priests, Easwar was arrested from his Thiruvananthapuram flat in the morning and taken to Kochi, where the latest FIR against him had been lodged.

Easwar had told a news conference about a “Plan B” and a “Plan C” to stop women aged 10 to 50 entering the Sabarimala shrine.

He had described how about 20 activists were waiting on the temple premises, ready to cut their hands and spill blood, thus desecrating the shrine and forcing it into a three-day closure for cleansing rituals.

After the statement raised a controversy, Easwar had denied any role in the plan and said he had only recounted how he had dissuaded the activists. But the video recording of the news conference had by then gone viral on social media, prompting a police complaint in Kochi.

Easwar has been charged with abetting an offence by more than 10 people, promoting enmity between groups, and committing an act that causes danger to the public. He faces three years in jail if convicted.

He had earlier been arrested from Sabarimala on October 17 for unlawful assembly and obstructing police, who were escorting women trying to approach the temple. He was granted bail on October 22.

At 10.16am on Sunday, Easwar tweeted that the police were arresting him. At 10.36am, he tweeted he was not being allowed to have his breakfast.