The Panvel City police booked a priest on Monday for opening the Kerumata temple and allowing devotees to enter the premises to worship the deity.

The incident occurred around 11 a.m. on Monday when personnel from Panvel City police station were patrolling Waghivali vaada in Panvel. The personnel entered the temple on noticing it was open and found the priest and residents from Pargaon, Owale, Dungi and Kundewahal villages offering prayers.

Senior police inspector Ajay Landge from Panvel City police station said, “When we asked the priest why he had opened the temple in violation of the lockdown rules, he said that he wanted to worship the deity. Since March 17, we have been holding frequent meetings with all religious heads and requesting them to keep places of worship closed. We also have been sending WhatsApp messages appealing to religious leaders to adhere to the lockdown rules. The priest has been booked for violating these regulations.”

The Panvel City police said they took suo motu cognisance of the incident and charged the priest under Sections 188, 269, 270, 271, 290, 336 of the Indian Penal Code, and sections of the Maharashtra Police Act, the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Maharashtra COVID-19 Regulations Rules, and the Disaster Management Act.