Have you ever been so exhausted at work that you just decided to stop everything and take a nap instead of attending to the task at hand? If that seems too brave to you, a burglar from Andhra Pradesh has set the bar high. A 21-year-old man who attempted to rob a house in East Godavari district just couldn’t resist the temptation to sleep under the inviting cool of the air conditioner. Unfortunately for him, the end result was very much on expected lines — getting caught red-handed.
Babu, a resident of a village in East Godavari, attempted to burgle the house of a petrol bunk owner in the district. Babu had arranged for a mask (not the COVID-19 kind), done a proper recce of the house, thoroughly studied the daily routine of the house owner and assessed where he keeps the cash collected from the day’s earnings, etc before trying to carry out the heist.
As planned, to relieve himself from the financial crisis, Babu decided to execute the plan on September 12. He entered the unlocked house at 4 am and entered the room of the house owner, Satti Venkat Reddy, who was fast asleep.
Unlike the usual routine of keeping cash inside cupboards or safe boxes, Reddy had unwittingly made it very convenient for Babu by keeping the money next to him on the table. Being an amateur, however, Babu made the mistake of sleeping on the job.
“He told us that he was tired and since the air conditioner was also on, he could not resist the sleep,” narrated constable Arjun from the Gokavaram police station.
Babu, who thought that he would make away with the loot after a small power nap, decided to sleep under the house owner’s cot. Unfortunately for him, he ended up sleeping for much longer than the house owner.
A startled Reddy heard the snores of Babu, locked him inside the room and alerted the police. The police arrived on the scene at around 7.30 am.
“When our colleagues went there, he locked himself up in the room. After persuading him for a few minutes, he was detained,” said constable Arjun.
The police said that Babu had debts and working at a sweet stall did not help him in getting out of the financial crisis. “He thought that he would get out of the mess if he just committed a theft. He saw that the petrol bunk owner took his daily collection home before depositing it in the bank, so he followed him and attempted to steal the money from him.”
The police said that they investigated his family members and found that Babu was not a professional thief.
Babu was arrested under Section 380/ 511 (attempt to commit theft). “Though he did not commit the offence, he still attempted to, so we had to arrest him,” said sub inspector, Channa Rao.