In a case stranger than fiction, a 27-year-old Assam native was caught stealing premium smartphones from a Bengaluru shop—while wearing nothing but a face mask.
The bizarre burglary occurred past midnight on May 9 at Hanuman Telecom in Hongasandra. The man, identified as Imranullah, drilled a two-foot-wide hole in the shop’s wall and wriggled inside nude, claiming he didn’t want to ruin his brand-new clothes while squeezing through the gap.
Initially suspected to be the work of a professional gang, the crime was soon unravelled thanks to sharp CCTV footage. The video showed Imranullah moving with uncanny precision, torch in hand, selecting phones worth over ₹15,000 and ignoring cheaper models. Meanwhile, an accomplice waited outside as a lookout.
The theft was discovered the next afternoon when store owner Dinesh, away on a family emergency, remotely accessed the surveillance feed. His friend Vasanaram rushed to the store, saw the drilled wall, and filed a police complaint.
Imranullah was arrested the following day. He confessed that the theft was driven by a desire to impress his girlfriend. He intended to sell the stolen phones on the black market to fund gifts for her.
The accused has been booked under Sections 331 and 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police are still hunting for his accomplice, and forensic teams are analyzing further evidence.
Though crude in method, the crime displayed calculated planning and shocking audacity.
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