Unidentified persons robbed over 50 gm gold jewellery from the Renuka Yellamma temple, after allegedly throwing chilli powder on the priest Manjunath, on Monday morning.
According to the C.K. Achkattu police, who have taken up the case, the robbery occured at around 6.45 a.m. when Manjunath was performing the puja at the temple in Srinivasanagar. They said that two persons entered the temple. One of them diverted Manjunath’s attention on the pretext of enquiring about the various pujas, while the other person entered the santum sanctorum and took away the jewellery in the idol. When Manjunath tried to stop them, it is suspected that they they threw chilli powder at him and fled the spot.
The public rushed to the spot after the incident and alerted the C.K. Achakattu police station. The police are now checking CCTV footage from nearby localities to identify the suspects.
However, senior police officers said that the theft is suspected to be an outcome of a rift between two priests of the temple. “We are investigating whether chilli powder was thrown,” they said.
