India: Burglar falls asleep in air-condition room mid- theft, in Andhra Pradesh

A 21-year-old burglar who attempted to rob a house in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, last week, just couldn’t resist the temptation to sleep under the inviting cool of the air conditioner. What happened next was not surprising, he got caught red-handed.

Reportedly Babu, a resident of a village in East Godavari district, tried to rob the house of a petrol bunk owner. He had arranged for a mask; did a proper recce of the house, thoroughly studied the daily routine of the house owner before proceeding to carry out the heist.

According to the Indian media reports, Babu decided to execute the plan on September 12. He entered the unlocked house at 4am and entered the room of the house owner, Satti Venkat Reddy. 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.

Apparently, he thought he would make away with the loot after a small power nap, and decided to sleep under the house owner’s cot. Police officials said: “Babu told us that he was tired and since the air conditioner was also on, he could not resist the sleep.”

Unfortunately for him, he ended up sleeping for much longer than the house owner. Police said that when Reddy returned, he heard Babu snoring, locked him inside the room, and alerted the police. The police arrived on the scene at around 7.30am.

A police official told local news media channels: “When our colleagues went there, Babu locked himself up in the room. After persuading him for a few minutes, he was detained.”

He added: “Though he did not commit the offence, he still attempted to, so we had to arrest him.”

The police said that Babu had debts, and working at a sweet stall did not help him with the financial crisis he was facing. The police said that they interrogated his family members and found that Babu was not a professional thief.

Indian news reports say that the accused was arrested under Section 380/511 (attempt to commit theft) of the Indian Penal Code.