Argentine detained for entering Jagannath temple

Bhubaneswar April 24 (IANS) A tourist from Argentina was detained for entering the Jagannath Temple in Puri said police on Monday.

Police said temple servitors spotted Dario Salvador Visciglia clad in a dhoti and T-shirt near the Goddess Laxmi temple while he was roaming inside the 12th-century shrine.

Later he was handed over to police as non-Hindus are not allowed to enter the temple.

However the foreigner was allowed to go after verification of the travel documents as a non-Hindu s entry into the temple is not a punishable offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Police said Visciglia and his wife who are devotees of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) had been staying in an ashram in Puri since last couple of days with valid travel documents.

The couple hail from Buenos Aires.

--IANS
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