VARANASI: Thieves break in and break out. But this one checked in. In what may rank among one of the most leisurely burglaries ever caught on camera, a Varanasi thief allegedly turned a motorcycle showroom into his personal lounge before making off with a premium bike worth Rs 4.71 lakh.The intruder, according to CCTV footage, arrived at a motorbike showroom in the Manduadih area shortly before midnight on Monday and allegedly sliced through the glass entrance with the precision of someone checking into a hotel rather than breaking into one. Once inside, however, urgency appeared to be the last thing on his mind.For the next four-and-a-half hours, the showroom became his private retreat. The CCTV footage shows him settled into a chair, leisurely inspecting the motorcycles on display, helping himself to chilled water from the mini-fridge and even brewing a cup of coffee. Having refreshed himself, he then allegedly headed to the washroom. He then took a bath, put on a branded T-shirt found on the premises, sported a cap and transfored a bike cover into an improvised lungi. He then cranked up the music and launched into an impromptu jig.The dance session over, he turned his attention to the actual purpose of the visit. Around 4 am, after selecting a KTM Adventure 390 S motorcycle, he allegedly rode away into the night, taking along a few accessories and leaving behind a trail of fingerprints, shattered glass and bewildered investigators.The theft came to light an hour later when the security guard noticed the damaged entrance and alerted the showroom manager. Police and forensic experts soon arrived, but by then the visitor had already checked out, complete with the property’s most expensive souvenir.In a post on X, DCP, Varuna Zone Commissionerate said a probe into the incident has been initiated. “An FIR has been registered under relevant sections at Manduadih police station, Varanasi Commissionerate, and necessary investigative actions are being taken,” the DCP added.Manduadih, SHO, Ajay Raj Verma said the accused’s photograph has been circulated to all police stations through the control room to facilitate his identification and arrest. “His appearance matches that of a known thief. Police teams are conducting raids to trace him. We are also working to identify the active mobile number network linked to the suspect based on the IP address associated with his location,” Verma said.For now, investigators are hunting for the thief. But thanks to the extraordinary CCTV footage, this may go down as a case where the accused spent more time enjoying the amenities than executing the crime itself.
