Thiruvananthapuram | A scuffle broke out between Yuva Morcha activists and the police during a massive protest march to the Secretariat here on Monday over alleged irregularities in the gold-plating of the Sabarimala temple.

The agitators tried to push down the police and jump the barricades placed in front of the administrative hub.

They also hurled plastic bottles and sticks at the water cannon, which police used multiple times to disperse the protesters.

A large number of demonstrators were seen raising provocative slogans against the police, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and the state government.

The protest followed a recent Kerala High Court order directing an inquiry after it noticed a reduction in the weight of gold-clad copper plates on the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols at the temple.

On October 10, the court instructed the state police to register a criminal case over the suspected misappropriation of gold from the side frames or lintels of the shrine and to initiate an investigation.