Five, including man who staged robbery of friend, arrested

CHENNAI: Four bikers threw chilli powder on a

man

’s face and robbed him of Rs 4 lakh near Nandanam on Monday night. Police arrested five people, one of whom was also the victim’s friend, for involvement in the robbery.

Police said Jaffer Sadiq, owned a cell phone shop at Anna Salai along with three other friends. He bought imported cell phones and sold them in the city.

On Monday night, he took his friend Mohammed Thameem Ansari to the city airport to receive a parcel that had arrived from abroad.

Near Nandanam signal, the two men were intercepted by four people on two bikes. The

gang

threw chilli powder on their faces and tried to snatch the bag containing Rs 4 lakh.

“As Jaffer Sadiq held the bag tightly, they attacked him using an iron rod and escaped with the money,” said an investigating officer. The injured two reached a nearby private hospital and received first aid. Later, Thameem filed a complaint with the

Teynampet

police station.

During investigation, police found that Thameen Ansari’s replies were contradictory and it was found that he had staged the robbery. Police said he admitted to the crime and five including, Arun, Karthik and Vicky were arrested.

Police with the help of CCTV camera footage identified the other accused. Thameem only alerted the gang to rob the money and he did not help the robbers when they tried to snatched his bag, police said. Further investigations are on.