CHENNAI: The police have launched a search for suspects who posed as customers, attacked a goldsmith and robbed about 800 grams of gold jewellery from him at his workshop in Elephant Gate on Monday.

The victim, Jagatheesh, a native of Rajasthan, runs a jewellery-making unit on Venkatarayan Street in Elephant Gate, police said.

On Monday evening, Jagatheesh was alone in the workshop when the two men walked in posing as customers. They asked for jewellery samples from Jagatheesh, and when he was checking the jewellery, the duo took him by surprise and assaulted him.

The assailants then tied him to a chair and escaped with around 800 grams of gold jewellery. The police said that the assailants also damaged the CCTV cameras and took the DVR (digital video recorder).

Jagatheesh's younger brother, Chetan, who came to the workshop, found his elder brother lying unconscious and moved him to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.

The Elephant Gate police have registered a case based on a complaint and are going over CCTV footage from neighbouring buildings to trace the identity of the suspects.