Odisha tattoo shop owner, assistant arrested for inking Lord Jagannath on foreigner's thigh

A tattoo shop owner and his assistant were arrested in Bhubaneswar on Monday following outrage over allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments. The controversy arose after they inked a tattoo of Lord Jagannath on the thigh of a foreign national.

Bhubaneswar:  The owner of the tattoo shop and his assistant were arrested by police in Bhubaneswar on Monday after a row erupted over allegedly hurting the sentiments of Hindus after the accused created Lord Jagannath's tattoo on an unsuitable body part of a foreign national. Bhubaneswar Assistant Commissioner of Police (Zone-5) Biswaranjan Senapati said that a lady belonging to a foreign nationality visited the tattoo shop on Sunday, and upon her demand, they created a tattoo on her thigh

Biswaranjan Senapati said, "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."

He further said police did not take any action against the woman of foreign nationality.

"After making the tattoo, they shared the video on whatsapp status. We have registered a case under Sections 196, 299 and 305 under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the shop owner and the artist and arrested them for defaming Lord Jagannath," he further said.

The Jagannath Temple is a temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath. It is located in Puri in the state of Odisha.