CHENNAI: Four bike-borne men threw some kind of powder at a man and robbed him of Rs 4 lakh near Nandanam in the city on Monday night. According to police officials, Jaffer Sadik, who runs a cell phone shop, had given Rs 4 lakh to his friend Thameem Ansari to provide it to another friend who was waiting at the Chennai International Airport. “As Thameem Ansari was reaching the Nandanam signal around 10.30 pm, four people riding two motorbikes intercepted his motorbike and threw some powder at his face and escaped with the bag containing the money,” said a police source.
Thameem lodged a complaint at the Teynampet police station. Police officers have obtained closed-circuit television footages and are further investigating the case. Two weeks ago, two similar incidents were reported in the city, in which the suspects threw powder and escaped with a cell phone and Rs 85,000 in cash. The police have also sent the samples of the powder used for the crime to a laboratory to ascertain its properties.