Man held for stealing equipment from prisons department office

A 31-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday for stealing Rs 1.7 lakh worth of equipment from the offices of Karnataka Prisons and Correctional Services Department last month.

Upparpet police described Venkatesh Pilla as "addicted to bad habits" who often robbed people walking alone on dimly lit streets. On the night of October 13, Pilla allegedly broke into the offices of the Karnataka Prisons and Correctional Services Department, which also houses the office of the deputy inspector general of police, prison, located opposite Freedom Park on Seshadri Road in the heart of Bengaluru. He broke the lock and stole a variety of equipment, ranging from the generator to wood-cutting machines.

The burglary came to light the next day when a prisons department staffer reported for work. CCTV cameras had caught the theft. Police zeroed in on Pilla and tracked him down. The stolen items have been recovered.

A senior police officer said Pilla had stopped going to work and taken to stealing in order to make ends meet.