'Slithering thieves' slip up, get caught

2 men expert at breaking into flats from terrace walk into cop trap

Two young men, dubbed the 'slithering thieves' because of their alleged method of slipping into flats from the terrace, are now cooling their heels behind bars after a slip-up.

The two were caught when they were careless enough to walk into a trap laid by the Hadapsar police. The police had received a tip-off that the suspects were on their way to the Hadapsar market to sell a computer.

The police said the two had mastered the art of breaking into flats in posh areas such as Magarpatta and Kalyani Nagar by slithering down from the terrace.

The two used to first confirm there was nobody who answered the doorbell of the flats they wanted to target.

Once they were sure nobody was home, they would climb on to the terrace and either jump or slither down a pipe on to the balcony and steal electronic gadgets and other valuables.

Senior Police Inspector Pandharinath Mandhare of the Hadapasar police station said, "We laid a trap and nabbed them."

The two arrested men were identified as Sagar Datta Pawar (20), a runaway prisoner, and Nitin Bhimrao Gaikwad (21), a resident of Undri in Hadapsar.

The police said the two had admitted to 12 thefts in the residential complexes of Kothrud and Hadapsar. The police said they recovered valuables worth Rs 2.63 lakh from them. They said among the recovered items were three laptops, mobile phones, two Hero Honda Splendor bikes and foreign currency.

The two were produced before the Cantonment Court and remanded in police custody till March 17. The Hadapsar police are hopeful of recovering more stolen material from them.