F*** the police: Bengaluru artist in hot water for posting abusive tattoo on Instagram

A Bengaluru tattoo artist has found himself in trouble after posting a tattoo with an abusive message about police on Instagram Stories. Ritesh Aghariya, 41, CEO of Tattoo Sutra on Brigade Road, faces legal action following the incident.

The controversy began when the city police's X handle flagged a photo of a tattoo reading 'F*** the police' on the right side of a person's chest. As per a TOI report, sub-inspector Chethan SG, who manages social media for Cubbon Park police station, discovered the photo around 10 pm on Tuesday. He found it on the Instagram Stories of the account 'Tattoo.Sutra' and saw that @TilakSadive had shared a screenshot, tagging the city police handle and requesting their attention.

Chethan promptly notified his senior officers, who directed him to file a complaint. The complaint asserts that the post was offensive and disrespected the police department. A non-cognizable report was filed that same night.

The Instagram story, uploaded around 10:30 pm on Monday, was later used to register a First Information Report (FIR) with the 41st magistrate court under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, Section 352, which deals with intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace.

A senior officer explained that although the offence carries a penalty of less than seven years, the artist was not detained but was instructed to appear for further questioning. Ritesh admitted to uploading the photo, claiming it was a mistake while reviewing old photos. He explained that a foreign customer had the tattoo done at his shop, and he did not recall many details about the client.

Authorities have emphasised their vigilance over social media posts and warned against derogatory content. Another senior officer stated, "We monitor social media closely, and appropriate action will be taken against any such posts. We urge people to avoid such actions."

Attempts by TOI to contact Ritesh via the mobile number listed on his Instagram account were unsuccessful as the number was turned off.

Inputs from TOI