Mumbai: While there are continuous appeals being made by authorities for the citizens to abide by the lockdown rules, a priest threw open a local temple in Panvel for public worshipping.
This led to the detention of the priest, the Panvel police said on Monday. According to the preliminary information received, the priest had opened the Kerumata temple at Waghivalli Wada, Ovale in Panvel.
"We had received information on the temple being opened by the priest for the public," confirmed Ajay Kumar Landge, the senior police inspector, Panvel police. "On getting the information, we visited the temple, which was indeed opened.
Also, there were few citizens, who had come to worship on being informed that the temple is now open," Landge added. Subsequently, the temple was once again made to shut for public worshipping.
"But we booked the priest under relevant provisions of law and for breaching the lockdown rules and defying the time-to-time advisories being issued by the authorities," Landge said.
"The priest was detained and then released after a notice was served upon him. He will now be summoned by the court in due course," Landge added.
As per the police statement, the priest has been booked for defying quarantine rules, for creating public nuisance and also for malignant and negligent acts by which a disease can be transmitted or spread to other members of the public. He has also been booked for defying the orders issued by public authorities. All these are the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
