Gangolli police have booked cases against Fr Fred Mascarenhas of St Antony Church of Padukone in Nada village and six others for violating the lockdown rules and holding mass prayers in the church on Thursday evening.
Nada Gram Panchayat Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) received a complaint that a priest, along with six others, was offering mass prayers at St Antony church.
When the PDO visited the spot, he noticed that the priest and six others were offering mass prayers.
Based on PDO's complaint that mass prayer was a violation of the lockdown guidelines issued by Udupi Deputy Commissioner, police registered cases under sections 188, 269 and 149 of IPC.