Bhubaneswar: In the run-up to Rath Yatra, Puri police on Friday removed 97 AI‑generated distorted images that depicted the deities of Jagannath temple as sick. The crackdown came after social media visuals showing the idols with thermometers in their mouths and strips of wet cloth on their foreheads sparked widespread outrage.“Such distortion of the deities will not be tolerated. We have facilitated the withdrawal of a large number of disrespectful photos and videos of the sibling deities from social media platforms. If this practice continues, we will initiate legal action,” warned SP (Puri) Prateek Singh.Since the Debasnana Purnima on Monday, the idols were given the ceremonial bath and, as tradition dictates, have been confined to the ‘anasara ghara’ — a symbolic sick room inside the shrine — where the deities stay for a fortnight, believed to be recuperating from fever.“Digitally created visuals showing the deities as ill have flooded social media. Such distortions trivialise sacred tradition and have deeply hurt devotees sentiments,” said servitor Shayma Mohapatra.“We appeal to devotees not to indulge in or circulate misleading content. The rituals are symbolic and revered. Any attempt to misrepresent them would wound religious sentiment,” said an official of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration.
