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regular-article-logo Wednesday, 08 May 2024

Bangladeshi YouTuber held for taking pictures inside Puri temple, posting those on Facebook

The pictures, uploaded by Akash Chowdhury on the social media platform, went viral shortly after it was posted a week ago, sparking concerns over security at the 12th century shrine

PTI Puri Published 29.11.22, 12:54 PM
Shree Jagannath temple's sanctum sanctorum in Puri

Shree Jagannath temple's sanctum sanctorum in Puri File picture

A 23-year-old YouTuber from Bangladesh was arrested here for allegedly taking photos of 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 on Tuesday.

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

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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.

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

Chowdhury, who had left for Vrindavan, returned to Puri on 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.

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