A tattoo of Lord Jagannath inked on a foreign woman’s thigh has sparked outrage in Odisha, leading to the arrest of two individuals—the tattoo artist and his employer, a police official said on Sunday. The controversy erupted after a photo of the tattoo, drawn at a parlour in Bhubaneswar, went viral on social media. Jagannath devotees expressed their dismay, calling the placement of the tattoo inappropriate.
Following the uproar, both the woman, who works for a non-governmental organisation, and the tattoo parlour owner issued public apologies on social media.
A few devotees lodged a complaint at Sahid Nagar police station on Sunday evening, after which a case was registered under Section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting religion or religious beliefs,” a police officer said, as per news agency PTI.
Bhubaneswar ACP (Zone-5) Biswaranjan Senapati stated that the complainants had sought legal action against the parlour owner. “During the investigation, we found that the foreign lady had visited the tattoo shop on March 1. Under the instruction of the tattoo shop owner, Rocky Ranjan Bisoi, the tattoo was inked by Aswini Kumar Pradhan on the woman’s thigh,” said Senapati.
He added that Bisoi took a photo of the tattooed woman and shared it on social media. “We have arrested Rocky and Aswini, and they will be produced before a court tomorrow,” the ACP said, as per PTI.
Subrat Mohani, one of the complainants, stated, “Inking Lord Jagannath’s tattoo at an inappropriate place has hurt our sentiments. It is an insult to all Jagannath devotees and Hindus in general. We filed the FIR demanding legal action against those involved in this incident.”
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‘Didn’t Want To Disrespect Lord Jagannath’: Woman, Tattoo Parlour Owner Apologise
In a video message, the woman apologised with folded hands, saying, “I did not want to disrespect Lord Jagannath. I am a true devotee of Lord Jagannath and visit the temple every day. I made a mistake, and for this, I am very sorry. I just asked the artist to ink the tattoo at a hidden place. I did not want to create any issue. As soon as the tattoo area heals, I will get it removed. Forgive me for my mistake.”
The tattoo parlour owner also issued an apology, stating that the woman had specifically requested the tattoo on her thigh despite staff advising her to get it inked on her arm instead. “I sincerely apologise for this incident. I was not present at the shop at that time. The tattoo artist will either cover up the tattoo or remove it after about 25 days, as removing it now could cause infection,” he said, as quoted by PTI.
The woman has assured that she will visit the shop again to either remove or cover up the tattoo, the owner added.
