TIRUVANNAMALAI: Tense moments prevailed at the Sri Ramana Ashram when a 27-year-old foreigner sought permission to take pictures of Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple, using an unmanned aerial vehicle on Sunday. The police denied him permission and asked the ashram administration to keep the UAV in its custody till the foreigner’s stay in Tiruvannamalai.
According to the police, Joseph Benjamin Murrel from South Brook, London, has been in Tiruvannamalai since December 14 and approached the ashram administration to ask whether he can take photographs of the temple, using the UAV. The authorities contacted the police to know about the proper procedure to obtain permission.
The police inquired Murrel and examined the UAV to ensure that no pictures of the temple had been taken, before handed over the UAV to the ashram. “We have asked the ashram people to keep the UAV in their custody. The foreigner is leaving for his country on January 11. So, we have asked the ashram to return the UAV to him when he is leaving Tiruvannamalai,” said a police official. The police official further said Murrel was on a pilgrimage to India.