An unidentified young man robbed a 60-year-old retired doctor of Rs 4 lakh at Diagonal Road auto-rickshaw stand in Bistupur, Jamshedpur, on Friday afternoon.

Dr Abha Gupta, a resident of Bistupur who was earlier associated with Tata Main Hospital as a general physician, was targeted when she was returning home from the market, police said, adding that they were scanning CCTV camera footage for clues on the youth.

Bistupur thana OC Srineewash said Dr Gupta first went to the SBI main branch, barely 200 metres from her apartment, around 12.30pm. After withdrawing Rs 2 lakh from SBI, the doctor visited Bank of India's main branch on Bistupur Main Road, another 200 metres away. She again withdrew Rs 2 lakh from a Bank of India branch and then walked to the Bistupur market to get her shoulder bag mended.

"Later, when she was about to board an auto at Diagonal Road for home, a youth appeared from nowhere, snatched away the bag of cash and disappeared in the crowd," the officer said, adding that the matter was reported at the police station around 3pm, prompting police to seal all exit points of the steel city.

According to police, a CCTV camera footage of Bistupur Main Road shows the woman crossing the road, but they are yet to find one that profiles the snatcher.

Dr Gupta said she owned a car, but its driver had not turned up on Friday. "The banks are within walking distance. So, I decided to finish the pending work. I had withdrawn the money to give it to a relative who needed it," she said.

A policeman said the young man might have followed his target from one of the two banks. "He may have had accomplices too. We are trying to ascertain that. We are hoping for clues in cameras at the banks," he added.