Heist, theft... then a nap: Satna burglar caught ‘asleep’ at crime scene

Bhopal: In what could easily pass for the plot of a slapstick comedy, a burglar in Satna allegedly dozed off inside the very electronics showroom he and his accomplices had just looted -- only to be discovered snoring at the crime scene the next morning.

While the rest of the gang reportedly vanished into the night with television sets, air conditioners and coolers worth several lakhs of rupees, their less-alert associate remained sprawled on the showroom floor, unknowingly awaiting the arrival of the shop owner.

The unusual burglary took place at an electronics godown on Khermai Road on Saturday night. According to police, the gang gained entry by breaking through an AC outdoor unit installed on the roof before making their way into the warehouse. They allegedly made off with a haul of electronic appliances, including TVs, air conditioners and coolers.

Somewhere during the operation, however, one of the accused apparently got too exhausted — or intoxicated — to continue. By Sunday morning, when the owner arrived to open the godown, he found the premises ransacked and an unfamiliar young man fast asleep amid the aftermath of the theft.

The stunned owner alerted local residents and contacted City Kotwali police, who arrived at the scene and detained the suspect. Police said the accused appeared to be under the influence of an intoxicating substance and remained unfit for questioning until late evening.

“Things will be clearer once we are able to interrogate him. He was probably in some intoxication and is still under some influence. We have rounded him up and further investigation is going on,” Kotwali police station in-charge Ravendra Dwivedi told TOI.

Police are now working to determine how many burglars were involved and to recover the stolen goods. The bizarre incident has become the talk of the town, with amused residents quipping that the thief quite literally slept through his own escape plan.