Bengaluru: He walked into a paying guest accommodation carrying a backpack, posing as a prospective tenant. Within an hour, the stranger had allegedly turned into a thief — breaking open a resident’s wardrobe and fleeing with two laptops, two chargers and up to Rs 10,000.According to the complaint filed by Muddada Murali Krishna, 30, a resident of Sri Laksmi Narasimha Swamy PG for Gents in Ashwathnagar in Marathahalli, Krishna, an employee of a private firm, is living in room No 401 on the fourth floor of the five-storey building.Krishna told police that he had stepped out in the early hours of Sunday to play cricket at a nearby playground along with others.Around 11am, a stranger in his 20s dressed like a private firm employee and carrying a backpack arrived at the PG claiming that he was looking for accommodation. The PG owner took him to the fourth floor and showed him the room in which Krishna was staying, informing him that one bed was vacant.He expressed his willingness to stay there and was allowed to enter the room without the owner collecting his identity details or other required documents.Krishna said there were two beds in the room and one of them was vacant. Soon after the owner showed the room to the stranger, he readily agreed to stay.The owner told Krishna that the stranger claimed he was working in a private firm. The owner asked him to pay monthly rent of Rs 8,000 with some advance. The miscreant agreed to the rent and informed him that he would pay the money in an hour as he wanted to get some rest.The stranger waited until he was alone before making his move. Sometime after the owner climbed down to the first floor, the miscreant broke open the wardrobe using tools and stole a laptop issued by the office and another personal laptop belonging to Krishna. He also took two laptop chargers and cash of around Rs 10,000 before leaving the PG.Krishna returned to the room around 2.30pm and found the room door open and the wardrobe damaged. He immediately alerted the PG owner, who was already aware of the incident.Krishna said the owner, who stays on the first floor of the building, did not suspect that the stranger would turn out to be a thief. The owner had not even collected his ID proofs or mobile number.The stranger’s entry into the PG was captured by a CCTV camera around 11am. The owner used his fingerprint on the biometric system to open the door for him.However, when the man exited the PG around 12pm, there was a power cut and the CCTV camera was not recording. So, the exact time at which he left remains unknown, Krishna said.HAL police have registered a case under Section 305 (theft in a dwelling house, or means of transportation or place of worship, etc).“We cannot see the thief’s face clearly in the PG camera. But the thief is well dressed; we are checking the CCTV cameras of the surrounding buildings for more leads. We have been telling the PG owners not to rent the room to anyone without collecting the ID proofs and other security measures, but they are not following the instructions seriously,” a police officer said.
