Uttarakhand: Man violates photography ban in Kedarnath Temple

Rudraprayag, Jul 23 (PTI) The ban on photography in the Kedarnath Temple here was violated when a pilgrim clicked a photo of spiritual leader Morari Bapu while he was offering prayers inside the sanctum sanctorum.

The man was identified with the help of CCTV camera footage after the photo went viral on social media platforms on Saturday, Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) media in-charge Harish Gaud said on Sunday.

A resident of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, the man was let off after he offered a written apology and a donation of Rs 11,000 to the BKTC, he said.

According to the devotee, he clicked the photograph of the spiritual leader, who has followers across the country, out of sheer excitement.

Morari Bapu was in Kedarnath during the course of his visit to the 12 Jyotirlingas in the country.

The BKTC had put a ban on photoshoots in the Himalayan temple earlier this week and displayed a notice to this effect on the main gates. It also asked people to wear “decent clothes” and desist from setting up tents or camps in the temple precincts.