Said to be veteran of nearly 110 burglaries, Madhukar Prabhakar has installed CCTV cameras and other expensive security gadgets at his home and temple built by him

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.u00a0Madhukar Manohar Prabhakar, said to be involved in some 110 cases of burglary in Mumbai and the city, has fitted his flat and temple with some of the most expensive security gadgets and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.


Au00a0most careful man: (Clockwise) Madhukar Prabhakar,u00a0
who has 110 robbery cases registered against him; his conjoined flats
in the building above MM restaurant owned by him; his door fitted
with three latches and a CCTV camera in the frame; the Ganesh
Seva Mandir built by Prabhakar; one of the many high-resolution
CCTV cameras at the temple. Pics/Kaumudi Gurjar

A visit to the Ganesh Seva Mandir built by Prabhakar revealed that it was under intense surveillance by high-resolution CCTV cameras. His two conjoined flats in the building above MM restaurant, also owned by him, on Aundh Road is similarly hard to break 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 rame.

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.

'Husband innocent'
This reporter met his wife Madhura, a dialysis patient, who swore by her husband's naivety. "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 after he must have turned down their demand for money," 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."

39 yrs of experience
Khadki police station records show that the first case against Prabhakar was registered in 1972 when he was a 10-year-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 where section 160 was applied against him after he engaged in a quarrel with his son in 2009. The Khadki police externed him from the city limits in December 2010, but the order was cancelled by the high court. Police Inspector Vilas Gavali of the Khadki police station said: "We will seek Prabhakar's transfer to the city in connection with an earlier case. We will resend the proposal for externment."

'Prince of thieves'
> Madhukar Manohar Prabhakar has been attached to the moniker Robinhood in the Aundh Road area for his supposedly munificent ways. It is said that he helped many patients to settle their hospital bill. He is popularly known as Madhu Sheth in the area.
> He contested the civic elections from Aundh in 2007 as an independent candidate
> Even the vegetable sellers in the area are confident that Prabhakar will be out soon, as that's the normal course and they don't think this time it will be different