Burglar on the day shift

abdul memon (46) is the “prince of housebreakers.� or so the police claim. he has 50 cases registered against him and is currently out on bail. memon, say the cops, unlike other cat burglars, operates only during the day. “government quarters and servants’ quarters are his targets as he knows that nobody will be around in the day. he enters the buildings posing as a postman or a phone repairman.he breaks the lock once he’s out of sight of the security guard, fills his bags with valuables and simply walks away.� said assistant inspector arun chavan, “he was caught red-handed by us [the byculla police] when a caller informed us that there was some disturbance in the neighbour’s house that usually remained locked during the day.� added another cop, “he gets caught so regularly that by now he knows exactly what we’re going to ask him. so he tells us all the answers even before we begin questioning him. he gets released on surety bail. even if he jumps it, he can afford to pay the fine of rs 5,000.� however, memon isn’t considered the king of housebreakers by cops. that dubious honour belongs to a man arrested in 1999. said inspector tanaji deshmukh, “this one man i arrested had 63 cases registered against him. he’s served a three-year term and will be released any day.�