Police in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar arrested the owner of a tattoo shop and his assistant on Monday for creating a tattoo of Lord Jagannath on an “inappropriate body part” of a foreign national, which allegedly hurt the sentiments of Hindu devotees.

The incident occurred on Sunday when a foreign national visited the tattoo shop and requested a tattoo, news agency ANI quoted Bhubaneswar Assistant Commissioner of Police (Zone-5), Biswaranjan Senapati.

The tattoo was created on the foreign national’s thigh, which led to a controversy after the shop owner shared a video of the process on social media.

“The owner of a tattoo shop located in Saheed Nagar shared a video on his social media of a woman of foreign nationality getting a tattoo of Lord Jagannath on her thigh. The sentiments of devotees got hurt. The owner of the tattoo shop, Rocky, and his assistant have been arrested by the police,” the report quoted Senapati said.

No action against foreign national involved

He further clarified that no action was taken against the foreign woman involved in the incident.

Following the video’s sharing on WhatsApp, the police registered a case under Sections 196, 299, and 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), charging the shop owner and the artist with defaming Lord Jagannath.

The incident has sparked controversy given the significance of the Jagannath Temple, located in Odisha’s Puri, which is dedicated to Lord Jagannath, a revered deity.