CHENNAI: A 24-year-old Australian woman tourist was allegedly robbed at the Marina Beach on Wednesday when she had come with her friends. “Elisa Venderson went to the Marina beach along with her friends around 7 pm on Wednesday. Two hours later, her friends went to take a dip in the sea and she was seated on the sand right opposite the statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. An unidentified person allegedly robbed her handbag that she had kept near her on the sand. She immediately raised an alarm, but the man escaped,” said the investigation officer.
She lodged a complaint with the Anna square police who registered a case. “We have arranged a temporary visa and she had also lodged a complaint with the Australian Embassy,” the officer added. In her complaint she said she spotted a man snatch her bag and run. Her handbag contained her passport, visa, two mobile phones and Rs 15,000 in cash.
An investigation revealed that Elisa came to the city on April 3 and lived along with her friend from Sudan at Anna Nagar. “The woman had come on a tourist visa and is not a student. She hesitated to reveal further details. Her parents in Australia have been informed,” said the officer.
The victim, along with another friend who, she believed, had travelled from Australia, lived with one Braj from Sudan. Police have taken CCTV footage from the locality to trace the suspect. This is not the first incident of snatching being reported at the Marina beach which is always under the police scanner.