Pune:
This "master burglar" has done well to learn his lesson from his victims' mistakes. He may be audacious enough to break into houses of unwary vacationers, but when it comes to his own home, he has spared no effort to fortify it from people of his ilk.
Madhukar Manohar Prabhakar, said to be involved in some 110 cases of burglary in Mumbai and Pune has fitted his flat with some of the most expensive security gadgets and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
A visit to the Ganesh Seva Mandir built by Prabhakar revealed that it was also under intense surveillance by high-resolution CCTV cameras. His two conjoined flats in a building above a restaurant, also owned by him, on Aundh Road are similarly hard to break in to for nocturnal trespassers.
The main door is fitted with three latches placed one above the other and a CCTV camera has been installed on the door frame.
Prabhakar was arrested when he tried to break into a flat in Amrutnagar, Girgaum, on May 14. Neighbours alerted the police after they heard him attempting to open the flat door.
His wife Madhura, who is on dialysis, swears by her husband's innocense. "The police have implicated my husband for nothing. Since he is a criminal on record, the police were quick to arrest him. I feel they might have booked him in the false case if after he must have turned down their demand for money (sic)," said Madhura.
"My husband has buried his past and moved on. We support our livelihood from the humble earnings we make by running our restaurant. My husband has not utilised his earnings from the past to build the temple."
Khadki police station records show that the first case against Prabhakar was registered in 1972 when he was 10-years-old and since then he has a total of 69 cases to his credit.
Prabhakar arrives at the place of offence, mostly plush locales in the city and Mumbai, only in chauffeur-driven expensive sports cars. The most recent case was registered against him in 2009 under section 160 after he engaged in a quarrel with his son.
The Khadki police externed him from the city limits in December 2010, but the order was cancelled by the High Court.