Bangladeshi Youth Arrested For Taking Photo Inside Puri Jagannath Temple In Odisha

Puri: Over a week after a video and pictures of the sanctum sanctorum of Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri went viral on social media, a Bangladeshi youth was arrested for the incident, which had raised serious questions over security at the 12^th century shrine.

According to reports, the youth, identified as Akash Chowdhury (23) of Zinda Bazar in Sylhet district of Bangladesh, has been arrested by Singhadwar police, which was probing into the incident.

A mobile phone and a Bangladeshi passport have been seized from the accused by the police. Further investigation is underway.

The youth  was arrested for taking photographs inside Jagannath Temple and sharing the same on his Facebook account.

Notably, mobile phones and cameras are prohibited inside the temple premises.

Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had lodged a complaint in this regard with the Singhadwara police after the video shot by the accused went viral, the sources added.

The youth was booked under Section 30(A)(4)(C) of Sri Jagannath Temple Act, 1954 and forwarded to the court, sources said.

According to sources, Chowdhury had posted the video on his Facebook account with a caption in Bengali. The video, which seemed to have been captured from Jaya-Bijaya Dwara of the temple, showed idols of the deities on the Ratna Singhasana. The video is suspected to have been recorded using a hidden camera before the Bada Singhara Besha ritual of the deities.