A 29-year-old man was on Wednesday arrested in connection with the alleged assault on a woman pilgrim at the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, suspecting her to be of childbearing age.

Sooraj, from Elanthur in Pathanamthitta district, is one of the main accused in the incident that took place on Tuesday when the hill shrine opened for a special ritual.

Hundreds of frenzied devotees had tried to attack and prevent the 52-year-old woman, Lalitha Ravi, from offering prayers at the temple.

Police said the man was arrested under the penal code’s non-bailable sections — 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage a woman’s modesty).

Investigations are on to nab the remaining accused, Pathanamthitta police chief T. Narayanan told PTI.

The man was arrested on the basis of digital evidence and photographs, he said.

Police have registered cases against 200 “identifiable” persons for trying to prevent Lalitha, who had come for the “choorunu” (rice-giving) ceremony of her grandchild, from praying at the temple.

Clapping and chanting “Ayyappa Saranam”, a huge crowd of devotees had surrounded Lalitha, suspecting her to be of menstrual age, but police had intervened and escorted her out.

The woman showed her Aadhaar card to prove that she did not belong to the “traditionally barred” age group of 10-50 years. The police later escorted her to the shrine along with other women relatives.

Former Travancore Devaswom Board president Prayar Gopalakrishnan has moved Kerala High Court seeking removal of board member K.P. Sankaradas, alleging that he had violated a temple custom.

The petitioner alleged that Sankaradas had climbed the 18 holy steps (sacred steps) without the “irumudikkettu”, the mandatory kit of puja essentials that devotees carry on their head.