The police in Karnataka’s Koppal district have arrested 50 people and charged them with the rioting after they broke a temple gate and took out a chariot forcibly amid the coronavirus-induced restrictions, NDTV reported on Friday.

District Superintendent of Police G Sangeetha told the television channel that the tehsildar had given permission for prayers, which is held annually at a temple in Dotihal village of Kushtagi taluk. However, the prayers were to be held with a limited number of people inside the temple due to the lockdown. A metal grill that served as a gate was shut as soon as the crowd grew to around 50 people to stop others from entering. But those outside, broke it and forced the temple chariot out.

The crowd eventually grew bigger and the police had to use batons to disperse them. Sangeetha said most of the villagers ran away after the incident. Arrests were made based on CCTV footage.

All social, political, and religious gatherings are banned in Karnataka, which has seen a sharp increase in coronavirus cases over the last few weeks. So far, the state has recorded 2,56,975 cases and 4,429 people have died.