Bangladeshi arrested for taking photos inside temple in India

A 23-year-old Bangladeshi YouTuber was arrested at Puri in Indian state of Odisha for allegedly taking photos of Shree Jagannath temple’s sanctum sanctorum on phone, in violation of the ban imposed on gadget use at the shrine, and posting those on social media, a police officer said Tuesday.

A local court later granted him bail as the offence was non-cognizable in nature, the officer said.

The pictures, uploaded by Akash Chowdhury on Facebook, went viral shortly after it was posted a week ago, sparking concerns over security at the 12th century shrine, reports Orissa Post.

A case was registered against Chowdhury, a resident of Bangladesh’s Sylhet region, at Singhdwar police station in Puri by the temple administration, the officer said.

Chowdhury, who had left for Vrindavan, returned to Puri Monday on being summoned by the police.

He was arrested under various sections of Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1954 and the IT Act, for violating rules and clicking pictures of the sanctum sanctorum (Garba Gruha), and then posting them on Facebook.

His phone and passport were also confiscated.

The 23-year-old man secured his bail from a local court later in the day. “Chowdhury, a YouTuber and member of a religious outfit, hails from Radhakunj Sarada Bhawan of East Zinda Bazaar in Sylhet district of Bangladesh. He had allegedly secretly taken some photographs on his mobile phone inside Shree Jagannath Temple and subsequently shared those on Facebook,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, servitors of the 12th century shrine and devotees raised questions over the security lapses. One of the servitors said it must be probed how a foreigner managed to take photographs, despite the ban on use of gadgets inside the shrine.