Men spray sedative, rob goldsmith

CHENNAI: Two bike-borne men sprayed a sedative on the face of a goldsmith at Elephant Gate and escaped with five sovereigns of gold on Thursday evening.
Police said Nandhu, 35, of Krishnaiah Mastry Street in Sowcarpet was on his way to his shop on NSC Bose Road. He was carrying five sovereigns of gold in a box which he had taken from a jeweller at 7pm.Police said he was into designing jewellery.
Two men who followed him on bikes approached him on the pretext of seeking an address. The men spoke in Hindi, and suddenly sprayed him with a sedative. Within no time, the duo had escaped with the box containing gold.
Nandhu said he sat on a pavement immediately after they sprayed something on his face, and he was not able to note down the registration number of the bikes. After an hour, Nandhu regained consciousness and lodged a complaint with the Elephant Gate police. Police have registered a case and are on the lookout for the men. Nandhu has given a vague description of the men, but police are yet to get any vital clue.
“They probably knew he was a goldsmith and thought he would be carrying a large quantity of gold,” said an investigating officer. “It is a narrow lane, and there were not much people moving around. Police have drawn the sketches of the duo. They appeared to be from a northern state, and they spoke good Hindi, according to the victim. The culprits were fair, of average height and were in their early 20s,” the officer said.
The suspects would have followed Nandhu for several days and targeted him. He usually walks to the shop, police said.