When the owners of Culture Shopee in Thiruvananthapuram found that they had been robbed last month, they decided to check the footage from the CCTV installed in their store. What they found had them staring at the screens in shock -- the visuals of a man, nude except for his underwear, stared back at them from the footage.
The image of the naked man now adorns a huge banner placed outside the store. The store owners took screengrabs of the thief from the CCTV footage and published those onto flex boards that have been put up outside the store entrance for all to see. The banner reads “Have you seen this thief?” and also has a QR code which users can scan to watch the CCTV footage.
Reports say that the incident took place in June. The thief has not been caught yet. The owners have said that they decided to publish his pictures to see if he surrenders, and to inform the public about the theft.
Culture Shoppee is a store in Thiruvananthapuram that sells souvenirs and gifts. Though the store had many valuable items, the thief stole an inverter and a UPS. The thief visited the store thrice, on June 21, 24, and 26. On the first day, he appeared in the store dressed only in his underwear, with a towel wrapped around his head. The visuals show him opening doors inside the store and peering into rooms. He roams around the store for a bit, adjusting the towel on his head and checking out the store with a flashlight in hand. He seems to have checked the location of the CCTV cameras in the store too, as Mathrubhumi reported that he turned the cameras away. He returned three days later and removed the bars on the windows and left. On the third day, he stole the UPS and the inverter.
“We kept a flex to let everyone know,” the store owner told the media. He added that for a “small theft” like this, it is unlikely that the thief is someone who lives afar. “It has to be the handiwork of someone local. So, it is necessary to identify him,” the owner said.