Shoplifting or the act of stealing things from a shop isn’t uncommon. Hundreds of such cases are detected and reported within a single store every year. Shoplifting is a serious bane for any store owner and the retail players suffer massive losses because of the pilferage. Naturally, adoption of CCTV cameras and RFID tags on products as security measures is on the rise.
While there have been a few instances of shop keepers or onlookers publishing videos of shoplifting activities of late, this recent footage from a store in Hyderabad is quite shocking as well as amusing.
In this this 3 & a half minute video shared by the store in question, one can see a few women browsing in the tiny store, doing their thing. But the real action happens once the store attendant steps aside and can be seen missing for a good 2 minutes.
The woman in focus, who’s been innocuously picking up what appears to be Saris from the shelves takes the missing store attendant as her cue and jumps into action.
The viewer’s suspense is kept intact for the longest time about who the shopliftng perpetrator is, until the minute the woman strikes. While the act of shoplifting per se isn’t the shocking bit, it’s how she does it, that does blow the unsuspecting mind.
In the video, one can clearly see the woman doing a last minute look-see around to ensure that the storekeeper is away, and then quickly picking up not one, or two but three Saris, she quickly takes the cover of the counter, and stuffs the Saris between her thighs, conveniently veiling them under her own Sari.
The woman continues to hold her bounty between the legs even after the attendant is back, and pretends to be casually browsing around, even chatting up the fellow shoppers, so as to not appear nervous or arouse suspicion. Seconds later, the woman and an accompanying man make their way out of the store, all while the woman waddles about the store with the stolen garments lodged between her thighs.
While it’s unclear what action this store has taken against the offender, the clever technique of doing a walk of shame, with 3 huge pieces of garments on her is quite ingenious.
While store owners may be getting smarter about detecting and preventing theft, the seasoned shoplifter is getting as smarter about his or her craft.