Jagannath temple in Puri. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 16: Tension gripped Jagannath temple in Puri for half an hour today following the entry of a young woman believed to be a foreigner.

The woman was identified as Reme Martin, a Philippine national. Temple sources said a group of priests spotted the woman on the temple premises around 10am when there was a heavy rush of devotees. The woman, in her 30s, was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt.

The priests took her to the temple police outpost. She was later released after interrogation. Entry of non- Hindus is prohibited inside the 12th century shrine because of religious reasons. Earlier on several occasions in the past, the priests prohibited several foreign nationals or non-Hindus from entering the temple.

On January 1 this year, three non-Hindu youths were caught and evicted from the temple. They were identified as Indian nationals but were non-Hindus.

The 12th century temple has witnessed similar incidents in the past. While a 52-year-old Guyanese, Uday Singh, was detained on December 31 last year while trying to enter the temple, an American woman was evicted from the premises on December 28. A New Zealand national, Chandrasekhar Anand, 38, had staged a demonstration in front of the temple on December 23 last year demanding entry into the shrine.

On November 19 last year, J. Raman, an Australian national, and Lee Shee Sin from Singapore had to face a piquant situation when they were detected inside the temple by the servitors.