A laptop and other expensive gadgets kept on the rear seat of a car at Church Street was stolen by three persons on Monday.
Nimisha Sara Philip, a Chennai-based writer for a fashion magazine, had come to the city for an official assignment. She, her colleague and the driver parked the car and went for dinner. When they returned, Ms. Philip found the rear window of the car broken, and the bag stolen.
The bag contained a laptop, a hard disk and an iPad. A handbag with a debit and credit card and cash was also stolen. The police said the total value of the stolen goods is worth around ₹2 lakh.
However, the trio saw a CCTV camera installed in the vicinity of the car, and found footage of three men lurking around the car for sometime before one of them broke open the window and escaped with the baggage. The Ashok Nagar police have taken up a case and are investigating to track down the gang.
Police officials suspect that the gang may have struck before. A few days ago, at Commercial street nearby, a group of men dropped ₹60 in front of a driver of the car. They told him money had fallen from the car. When he went to pick it up, the gang snatched a bag in the back seat of the car and fled. The bag, which belonged to the owner of the car who had gone for shopping, contained ₹75,000.