Thousands of devotees gathered at a temple in a Karnataka village on Thursday evening for a festival, making a mockery of lockdown caution and worrying the administration because of the area’s proximity to Bangalore that has struggled to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

The festival, during which people walked shoulder-to-shoulder in a procession with offerings, was held at Kalagondahalli village in Ramanagara district, just 60km from Bangalore. None of the devotees was seen wearing masks or other protective gear.

The Ramanagara deputy commissioner has suspended N.C. Kalmatta, the local panchayat development officer who had given permission to the priest of Maramma temple to conduct the festival.

“We have also booked the temple priest under the infectious disease law,” Ramanagara tehsildar Varsha old The Telegraph on Friday.

She said efforts were on to trace the village people who participated in the procession. “Although we are in a green zone, prohibitory orders are still in force,” Varsha said.

Karnataka declared prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 for the entire state soon after the lockdown was announced on March 24.

A video clip circulating on social media showed people jostling with each other in the procession. It was not clear from the video if any policemen had been deployed.

Villages carried on their heads large trays laden with offerings to the temple deity as they proceeded towards the temple.

While such festivals are common in Karnataka’s villages where people worship native deities with much fervor, the lockdown protocol does not allow any such gathering.

The proximity of the village to Bangalore, the worst affected district of Karnataka, caused much consternation among health officials. Although Ramanagara is currently free of the coronavirus, Kalagondahalli village is closer to Bangalore.

With 95 active patients under treatment in Bangalore’s Covid-19 hospitals, the authorities are worried about a possible spread since there is no way to trace all those who attended the festival.

“That is the major concern since we don’t know if people had come from districts like Bangalore or even Mandya, where several coronavirus patients are being treated in hospitals,” Varsha said.

This is not the first such incident in the state after the lockdown came into force.

A Shiva temple at Gulbarga in north Karnataka had attracted a similarly large crowd in April. While the district official who allowed the festival was suspended, five temple office-bearers were arrested for violating the prohibitory orders and other sections.

Former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had on Aril 16 organised his son Nikhil’s wedding at his farmhouse in Bidadi in Ramanagara district on April 16.

Deflecting criticism, Kumaraswamy had maintained that the attendees had followed social distancing norms. But pictures showed none had worn even a mask and the small group had been huddled around the newly weds.

Karnataka High Court on Tuesday questioned why the state government was reluctant to heed its orders to provide a list of attendees at the wedding.

A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice B.V. Nagarathna had warned of an inquiry if there was no response from the government.

In its written response to an earlier order to submit the details, the state government had stated that the Ramanagara deputy commissioner ought to have the number of guests.