Bhubaneswar: The Twin City Commissionerate Police arrested two individuals on Monday in connection with a controversial tattoo of Lord Jagannath on the thigh of a foreign woman.
The tattoo artist, identified as Rocky Ranjan Bisoi (33), a resident of Nabakalebar Nagar under Pahal police station, is the owner of ‘Rocky Tatoose.’ The other person, an artist working at the ‘Rocky Tatoose’ shop, has been identified as Ashwini Kumar Pradhan (25), a resident of Airport Colony under Unit–6 police station.
According to an official press release, Subrat Kumar Mohanty, along with his friends, reported to the Saheed Nagar police station on Sunday about the controversial tattoo of Lord Jagannath on the thigh of a foreign woman.
They had learned through a social media platform that a tattoo artist named Rocky Tatoose from Saheed Nagar had depicted Lord Sri Jagannath’s image on the thigh of a foreign woman.
As this was seen as an insult to their religious feelings, they reported the incident to the Saheed Nagar police station, requesting action against the owner of Rocky Tattoos.
“A complaint was lodged against Rocky, alleging that religious sentiments were insulted. Following an investigation, it was revealed that on March 1, a foreign woman visited the ‘Rocky Tatoose’ studio to get a tattoo. With Rocky’s approval, one of his artists, tattooed a controversial design on the woman’s thigh. Rocky subsequently took a photo of the tattoo and shared it as his WhatsApp status. Upon seeing the post, several people reported the matter to the Saheed Nagar police. As a result, both the shop owner and the artist were arrested. They will be forwarded to court tomorrow,” stated Bhubaneswar Sub-Divisional V, ACP Biswaranjan Senapati in a press briefing on Monday.
During the investigation, the police commissionerate seized a mobile phone and a screenshot of photographs from them.
