The owner and assistant of a tattoo shop in Bhubaneswar were arrested on Monday following a controversy over a tattoo of Lord Jagannath placed on the thigh of a foreign national, an act that allegedly offended Hindu religious sentiments.
According to Bhubaneswar Assistant Commissioner of Police (Zone-5), Biswaranjan Senapati, the incident took place on Sunday when the foreign woman visited the tattoo shop and requested the tattoo. “The owner of the tattoo shop, located in Saheed Nagar, shared a video on his social media showing a foreign woman getting a tattoo of Lord Jagannath on her thigh. This hurt the sentiments of devotees,” Senapati explained.
The police took action after the video went viral, registering a case under Sections 196, 299, and 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), charging the tattoo shop owner, Rocky, and his assistant with defaming Lord Jagannath. Both were arrested in connection with the incident.
Senapati clarified that no action was taken against the foreign national involved in the incident.
The controversy has sparked debate due to the religious significance of the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha, where Lord Jagannath is a revered deity.
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