British national of Christian faith held for entering Puri Jagannath temple.

Christian Man from UK tried to violate the sanctity of Puri Jagannath Temple, assaulted cops.

Pritam Das | Bhubaneswhar : Police detained a 30-year-old British citizen of Christian faith for allegedly assaulting some on-duty cops inside Lord Jagannath temple in Puri on Saturday, after they asked him to leave the shrine that is off limits for nonHindus.The accused was creating nuisance inside the iconic Hindu temple.

Puri SP Pinak Mishra said a case had been registered against the man, identified as Thomas Craig Sheldon from Wandsworth in south London.

He was being questioned and the circumstances leading to the incident were being investigated, Mishra told the media persons.

According to TOI, The incident came a week after a woman from Poland was detained for entering the 12th century shrine on March 23.

According to eyewitnesses, Sheldon entered the temple by covering his face partially and mingling with hundreds of devotees. Some policemen spotted him hurling abuses at visitors and tried to take him outside. “He was rude and got into a scuffle with police. Sheldon and one of the cops sustained minor injuries,” said Dama Mahapatra, a servitor.

Hours earlier, Sheldon war briefly detained at Sea Beach police station for creating nuisance near the sea shore and Swargadwar crematorium in an inebriated condition.

Jagganath Temple of Puri is an iconic creation of  Kalinga Architecture. As per temple records, the mythical King Indradyumna of Avanti built the main temple of Jagannath at Puri. The present temple was rebuilt from the tenth century onwards, on the site of the pre-existing temples in the compound, but not the main Jagannath temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty ( established 493 CE disestablished 1947 CE). The present temple was completed in 1161 CE as annals of the temple say. The world famous Rath Yatra (Chariot Festival) of Puri is connected to the deities of the Jagannath Temple.

It is unfortunate, in such a important Hindu pilgrimage of Puri Jagannath Temple site, many of Christians and Muslims try to violate the sanctity of the temple when the entry into temple is strictly prohibited for Non-Hindus.

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__Inputs from TOI.