Thief Puts Robbery On Hold To Read A Book. What, Really?

In a bizarre incident, a thief apparently forgot his mission after breaking into a flat. All thanks to a book. Yes, you read that right! The unidentified 38-year-old accused allegedly entered an apartment in the Prati district of Rome via a balcony. However, his attention was immediately diverted when he spotted a book about Homer’s Iliad on the bedside table. The homeowner, 71, was present during the break-in and confronted the perpetrator. However, according to NBC15, the thief was so preoccupied with the book that he was oblivious to his surroundings. The news outlet further stated that the offender was apprehended shortly after attempting to escape by the same balcony he had used to enter.

Meanwhile, the book that caught the thief’s attention was Giovanni Nucci’s The Gods at Six O’Clock. When the news made headlines, the author of the book was delighted to find that his book had caused such a distraction. “It’s fantastic. I’d like to find the person caught red-handed and give him the book because he’ll have been arrested halfway through reading it. I’d like him to be able to finish it,” Nucci told the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.

The burglar supposedly claimed to the police that he had climbed up the balcony to visit a friend who resided in the same building. “I thought I had ended up in a B&B, saw the book, and started to read it,” the thief said as quoted by BBC. The thief was also allegedly found with a bag containing pricey clothing that had been stolen from another property earlier that evening, BBC reported.

In June, a thief fell asleep while attempting to rob a house in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. As per reports, the robber entered the premises severely intoxicated. After scrambling through the premises and accomplishing his crime, he turned on the air conditioner to take a break. He had no idea that he would fall asleep only to be woken up by the cops the next morning. The incident took place in Lucknow’s Indiranagar Sector 20.

According to India Today, Dr Sunil Pandey owned the locked residence. He is posted in Varanasi and was not present during the incident.