In a robbery gone terribly wrong for this repeat offender, Papa Rao had broken into a temple in Andhra Pradesh and after stealing some silver ornaments, he tried to escape from a narrow hole in the wall. Unable to make a clean exit, he was in the hole stuck waist down, with no way to get out or back in. His cry for help landed him in jail, as it should for being caught in the act.

The 30-year-old thief had entered the Jami Yellamma Temple of Jadupudi village through a narrow window and looted the silver ornaments of the idols. The stolen items were valued at around Rs 650 as they weighed 9 grams. But when he was trying to escape, he got stuck in the hold he had drilled.

The distressed Papa Rao had no way in or out, so he called for help. Locals saw the thief hanging from the narrow opening in the wall. He pleaded to the locals to help him out, but to no avail. Many videos of Rao's predicament have gone viral on social media.

Thief stuck in hole after robbing temple in Andhra; police rescue him, take him straight to jail [watch]

In one video, the narrator can be heard describing the situation, showing the ornaments he had stolen even as Papa Rao is pleading for help. "Out of greed for these ornaments, he broke the window and went in. Now he can neither get out, nor go in, so he has remained hanging out of the opening," the narrator says.

Watch the video below:

Papa Rao lands in jail

The locals alerted the police of the situation, who then came to the rescue of Papa Rao, clearly not according to his plan. Kanchili Sub-Inspector Chiranjeevi said. "He was stuck for about 15 minutes on Tuesday afternoon before some farmworkers in the area noticed him and alerted us. We went and got him out and took him into custody. He will be sent to judicial remand today."

Arrested
social media

Papa Rao was taken into custody and booked under sections 454 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking in order to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment) and 380 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), TNM reported.

Papa Rao's attempt may seem amateur, but this wasn't his first offence. As many as six property offences are in his name. He had even stolen an LPG cylinder from his own mother's house. He is reported to be an alcohol addict.

Also Read