I am sorry, God: Chor

That is what a man wrote with a piece of chalk on a mirror and the floor below the place of worship in Deccan bungalow cops say he burgled along with an accomplice

I am sorry, God: Chor

That is what a man wrote with a piece of chalk on a mirror and the floor below the place of worship in Deccan bungalow cops say he burgled along with an accomplice

Got them: Amit Londhe (left) and Om Bhatkar were caught by Police
Constable Mahesh Nimbalkar (extreme right) for the burglary at
Golden Rock bungalow in Deccan Gymkhana

The burglary occurred on the night of May 17 at the Golden Rock bungalow -- in front of the famous Chitale Bandhu shop -- belonging to Vishnu Ramchandra Ranade (50), the Asia operations head of GE Healthcare, a multinational company. Bhatkar and his accomplice Amit Londhe (25) were in the bungalow for about five hours. The police said they entered the house at 8 pm and left only after 1 am.

Ranade frequently travels to foreign countries like South Africa and England, and had cash in foreign and Indian currencies at home, besides expensive cameras and gold ornaments. The burglars took away booty worth more than Rs 10 lakh.

The Ranades had gone to their hometown for a week when the incident happened. Ranade, his wife and his brother live in the bungalow; his sons work abroad. Bhatkar hails from Sangrampur village of Buldhana district, while Londhe is a resident of Sangam Bridge in the city. They used to earn their livelihood as catering workers and had known each other for four years.

Bhatkar had only Rs 30 in his pocket when he became desperate for some fast money. The police said he watched a movie on May 17 and landed in front of the bungalow, noticing that the house was locked and could be burgled easily.

Police Inspector Manohar Joshi from the Deccan police station Bhatkar called Londhe to the place and the two committed the offence by entering the balcony from behind, breaking the wooden door. "Bhatkar and Londhe searched the entire house and stole valuable items, including cash. Before leaving the house, they emptied a liquor bottle inside the house and wrote 'I am sorry, God: Chor' on the mirror and the place of worship. After the burglary, Bhatkar went to Kolhapur and other places and also took a small commercial space on rent in Wadgaon Dhayari," said Police Constable Mahesh Nimbalkar, who named Bhatkar from his shop.

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