Burglaries are common news, but a cat burglar, who was caught in Delhi on Tuesday has made front page news because of his multi-faceted skills, one of which happens to be parkour.
The Times of India reports that Mohammad Akram managed to hoodwink the police since April and rob 12 houses across different areas in Delhi including Hauz Khas Enclave, Anandlok and Golf Links. The police have said that apart from being able to deftly navigate through buildings he is also an expert at picking locks.
The newspaper reported that Akram, who has been accused in more than 30 burglary cases since 2004, and practiced his parkour skills when he was working as a mason between 2001 and 2004.
Akram would take great care in ensuring that he was not caught.
The newspaper reported that apart from his parkour skills, that he learnt without even using ropes by jumping from one scaffold to the other, he would use gloves, cover his face and even turn away CCTV cameras so that he was not caught. He even wore clothes that could be removed if someone were to catch him.
Because of his skills, he was able to slither up buildings and escape easily.
Parkour is an obstacle sport that involves free running, climbing, swinging, vaulting and jumping through an obstacle course or a complex environment (usually buildings).
It found its origins in a military obstacle course training in France called parcours du combattant meaningthe path of the warrior.
Akram's spree of burglaries came to an end when an elderly woman realised he had broken into her house. She raised an alarm, and as Akram was trying to escape in an auto, the auto driver called the police instead.
Read the entire story on The Times of India here.
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