French woman arrested for naked photos on Indian sacred bridge

A woman was taken into custody after filming herself naked on a sacred bridge in the northern Indian city of Rishikesh.

The 27-year-old tourist from France had been staying in Rishikesh since India imposed a national lockdown, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The woman was tracked down after the videos appeared online on Friday, featuring herself and another woman "semi-naked" on the Laxman Jhula bridge reported the Times of India.

The bridge over the river Ganges is a holy site and scenic spot for visitors. The photos uploaded were found to be deeply offensive, with local council members filing a complaint with police under Indian laws forbidding the "transmission of obscene material" online.

Local police say the offence was part of a promotional photoshoot for a business selling gemstones.

However the woman, identified by AFP as Marie-Helene, denied this was her motivation, saying that the photoshoot was a protest against sexual harassment.

The Laxman Jhula bridge in Rishikesh is a sacred site over the Ganges. Photo / Flickr.com, DJ Singh

"I chose to partially uncover on Laxman Jhula because each time I crossed the bridge I felt I was being harassed... My Indian sisters and fellow female travelers surely have experienced the same," she said.

Marie-Helene also issued an apology, saying she was "lacking awareness on cultural specificities."

The other woman is yet to be identified, and the state is still searching for local photographers who had been involved in the shoot.

Marie Helene had been trying to source "body pigments" and photo props in Rishikesh community forums on Facebook since the beginning of the month.

"The woman had been staying at a local guest house since March, where she shot some of the photos that led to her arrest," said police spokesperson Muni Ki Reti RK Saklani. "They had hired some local photographers for the shoots."

Apparently prompted by the charges, Marie-Helene wrote an apology on Facebook and a defense of her "Creativity":

"It implies for each of us to uncover our vulnerabilities, to break the protective layers," she wrote.

"I think I have just done that the past weeks, and I feel so sorry that it was so misunderstood."