BENGALURU: Two unidentified men posed as devotees at a temple and made away with a gold chain from the sanctum sanctorum after throwing chilli powder at the priest. The incident took place at Kathriguppe near Girinagar on Monday.
A senior police officer said that the priest Manjunath was performing puja at Renuka Yellamma temple at 6.45am, when two men entered the temple. One of them started talking to Manjunath about performing a special puja.
The other man gained entry into the sanctum sanctorum and when the priest tried to stop him, the man threw chilli powder at him. They stole a 50 gram gold chain that was on the idol and fled the scene.
When Manjunath stated screaming, the residents nearby came to the spot and informed the police.
Chennammanakere Achukattu police are checking the CCTV footage from nearby localities to identify the accused. Preliminary investigations revealed that the miscreants might have visited the temple in the past to plot the robbery.
Narasimharaju, an eyewitness, said the miscreants escaped on a two-wheeler. The duo were wearing helmets to hide their identity, he said.