Lord Jagannath Tattoo Sparks Protests, Apology Issued – Woman and tattoo parlour owner apologize amid public outrage. A tattoo of Lord Jagannath on a foreign woman’s thigh has generated much controversy in Odisha, leading to the arrest of the tattoo artist and the tattoo parlour owner, police officials confirmed.
The matter drew attention after a photo of the tattoo, made at a parlour in Bhubaneswar, went viral on social media. Several Jagannath devotees expressed anger over the tattooing on the thigh, condemning it as “disrespectful” and “outrageous”. This anger led the foreigner, who is employed for an NGO, to issue a public apology, along with the tattoo studio owner from where it was made.
After the uproar, devotees lodged a complaint at Sahid Nagar police station on Sunday evening. The police registered a case under Section 299 of the BNS (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting religion or religious beliefs).
According to Bhubaneswar Assistant Commissioner of Police, zone-5, Biswaranjan Senapati, the investigation revealed that the woman had gone to the tattoo parlour on March 1, 2023, where, under instructions from shop owner Rocky Ranjan Bisoi, artist Aswini Kumar Pradhan did the tattoo. The issue snowballed when the tattoo was publicized by Bisoi on the social media after the incident.
“Rocky and Aswini have been arrested. They will be produced before the court tomorrow,” Senapati stated.
One of the complainants, Subrat Mohani, stated, “Inking Lord Jagannath’s image at such an inappropriate place has hurt our religious sentiments. It is an insult to all Jagannath devotees and Hindus in general. We have filed an FIR demanding legal action against those involved.”
Apologies and Removal of the Tattoo
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In a video message, the foreign woman apologized with her hands folded.
“I had no intention to disrespect Lord Jagannath. I am a true devotee and I go to the temple every day. It was a mistake and I am very sorry. I asked for the tattoo to be done in a hidden area and did not intend to hurt anyone. I will get it removed after a few months once it is healed. I beg for your forgiveness,” she said.
The parlour owner, meanwhile, apologised and claimed that the woman was advised by the staff to tattoo her arm instead, while she insisted on doing it on her thigh.
“I was not present at the shop at the time, but I sincerely regret what happened. After 25 days, the artist will do the cover-up or removal, since removal now might cause infection,” he said.
The woman told the shop that she would come in to have the tattoo either removed or covered.
