Attention diversion: Man relieved of Rs 75,000

Police have got clues on the suspects as the incident was recorded by the CCTV cameras at the spot. The victim Mahalingam (55) of Mittanamalli, a worker at the Tank Factory, stepped out of a bank on CTH Road in Avadi after withdrawing Rs 75,000 on Tuesday afternoon and kept the cash bag on the tank cover of his two-wheeler.

A man standing near him asked him to check if the currency strewn on the road belongs to him.

While Mahalingam went to pick the notes, the man took out the cash bag from the bike and sped on a two-wheeler kept ready by his accomplice. Mahalingam raised an alarm but in vain.

Police suspect the duo themselves might have strewn Rs 10 notes there to divert Mahalingam’s attention. Similarly, Ice House police are searching for a conman who escaped with five sovereigns and Rs 15,000 from two houses, after posing as a marriage broker in Triplicane.

The victims, Srinivasa Varadhan (73) and Anuradha (73), were alone in their respective houses in an apartment building on East Kulakkarai Street, said police. The suspect asked them to fetch water to drink and escaped with valuables.

Two separate cases have been registered and the identity of the suspect is being ascertained with the help of CCTV footage.