A ridiculous incident has emerged from Rajasthan’s Bhilwara on Wednesday, where a band of burglars struck at a cell phone shop in the dead of the night, with one of them wearing Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s mask to conceal his identity, as captured in the CCTV footage. According to police, the incident unfolded around midnight at the Mateshwari cell phone shop in the Kareda area of Bhilwara, when the accused sneaked into the premises by forcing open a staircase gate from the rooftop.
After entering the shop, they ransacked the store and made away with dozens of cellphones.
A screengrab of the incident
Shop owner Laxman Sen said he was shocked when he discovered the shop break-in the next morning. He added that cell phones were missing from display racks and storage units, while the shop was left in a disarray. He estimated that around 40 smartphones, valued at Rs 5 lakh, had been stolen.
CCTV footage reveals unusual, hilarious disguise
The case, however, took an unusual turn after CCTV footage from the shop reportedly captured one of the accused wearing a mask featuring the face of PM Modi, while the burglary was being executed. Police believe the mask was deliberately used to conceal the identity through surveillance cameras.
Since then, the footage has gone viral locally, adding an element of hilarity, shock and disbelief among traders and residents of the region.
Upon receipt of a complaint, the Kareda Police Station personnel visited the scene, conducted an inspection and registered a case. They have launched a probe and are sifting through the CCTV footage from nearby establishments to trace the movement of the suspects.
Second attempted break-in reported from near first shop
In a related development, police said that another cell phone store, named Sanwariya Mobile Shop, located near the Seed Godown intersection in Kareda, was also targeted on the same night. In this incident too, the CCTV cameras captured the suspect wearing the same mask, trying to break open the shutter lock, though it is unclear whether any items were stolen.
Another still from the incident
A string of such incidents has triggered concern among local traders, who said the frequency of such thefts is rising. Business owners in the area have urged police to ramp up night patrolling and enhance surveillance to prevent any potential incidents in the future.