Puri: Barely hours after a Gujarat native was caught with spy camera lenses while trying to enter the Puri Jagannath Temple in Odisha, police detained another youth wearing spectacles with hidden camera at the 12th century shrine today. 

The individual, identified as Pratish Pal of Paschim Bardhaman district in West Bengal, was held by security personnel near the Paschima Dwara (West Gate) of the Srimandir. He has been detained and his mobile and glasses seized. The shocking incident, which comes hardly a day apart from a similar security breach at the temple, has not just triggered massive outrage among devotees but also laid bare glaring loopholes in the temple surveillance. 

On Monday, a native of Gujarat Bipul Patel was caught while entering the temple with spy camera-equipped glasses. Suspecting illicit activity, temple security personnel held him while he was roaming near the  'Kirtana Chakada' area and detected the spy camera embedded in his spectacles. He was immediately detained for further interrogation. 

A week back, a local devotee Abhijit Kar was intercepted in a similar incident. Upon interrogation, he admitted to capturing visuals of deities and interiors of the temple using a spy camera hidden in his glasses. He was later released after police deleted contents from his mobile and secured a written undertaking.

The series of major lapses inside the temple, a high security-zone, has also mounted a challenge for the local administration to tackle misuse of advanced surveillance gadgets in holy sites.

Despite explicit signage prohibiting photography and use of mobile phones inside the Srimandir, the brazen attempts by visitors to violate the security guidelines has exposed the vulnerability of religious sites.

Following the incident, Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said strict action will be taken against any person found violating temple security norms and stressed on intensifying surveillance. 

Addressing mediapersons, Puri SP Pinak Mishra said usage of hidden spy cameras in spectacles is a new pattern which devotees are adopting now. This trend is taking over after a special police team tackled unauthorised drone presence over the temple."Devotees using hidden cameras concealed in glass frames is the new challenge now after drones. This is the third such incident in a week. We are gearing up to deal with it in the most efficient manner. Our team has done a good job while detecting these spy cameras. They have been directed to exercise more vigilance while frisking visitors," he added.