Bengaluru: Two men entered a temple at Srinivasanagar in south Bengaluru on Monday morning in disguise of devotees and fled with a gold chain adorning the deity after throwing chilli powder in the eyes of the priest who tried to catch them.

According to the police, the incident took place at 6.10 am at Renuka Yellamma temple. The police said Manjunath, the priest, was going towards a corner of the temple to collect water for puja when one of the suspects approached him.

As Manjunath was returning to the sanctum sanctorum after collecting water, he spotted a stranger coming out holding the gold chain.

He threw chilli powder into Manjunath’s eyes and the duo escaped. They were wearing monkey caps while running away from the temple. There are two CCTV cameras opposite the temple, but are defunct, said the police.

 Recently, the temple’s administrative body had relieved the earlier priest of his duties and appointed Manjunath in his place. The police suspect the involvement of the former priest in the incident. Local residents said a silver plate was stolen from the temple about two weeks ago.