Bengaluru man with three wives, nine children held for serial burglaries with teenage son as accomplice: Report

A 35-year-old man named Babajan, living with three wives and nine children, was arrested in Bengaluru for multiple burglaries, involving his 16-year-old son.

A 35-year-old man leading a complex personal life with three wives and nine children has been arrested by Bengaluru's Electronics City police for a string of burglaries committed over the years — the latest with help from his 16-year-old son. Identified as Babajan, the accused had no steady source of income and resorted to theft to sustain his scattered family across Karnataka, according to a Times of India report.

Bengaluru man was arrested for serial burglaries across the city from past 8 years. (Pic for representation. )

Babajan’s personal life was as unconventional as his crimes. He maintained separate households for each of his wives — living in Srirangapatna, Anekal, and Chikkaballapura — and moved between them at will. With the pressure of supporting multiple families and no regular employment, police say Babajan turned to house thefts nearly eight years ago as a means to survive.

Trains son to steal homes

Recently, he brought his teenage son into the criminal fold, allegedly believing that the law is lenient toward juveniles. Their most recent theft occurred on May 7 in Bettadasanapura, where they stole gold, silver, and cash worth ₹4.6 lakh from the home of a 56-year-old woman, Rojamma. She had momentarily gone to the terrace to dry clothes, leaving the door open — a vulnerability the father-son duo exploited. While the boy sneaked in and picked up the valuables, Babajan waited outside, keeping watch.

Police investigations revealed that this had become a pattern — Babajan would scan for homes with open doors or distracted residents, drop his son nearby, and give a signal when it was safe to enter. He reportedly trained the boy specifically for daylight burglaries.

Their crime spree came to an end on May 13 when Inspector Naveen GM and his team tracked Babajan to Mylasandra using CCTV footage. Upon interrogation, he confessed to involving his son in thefts and detailed his modus operandi.

So far, police have linked Babajan to nine burglary cases and recovered 188 grams of gold, 550 grams of silver, and a two-wheeler used in the crimes. The case has raised serious concerns about the use of minors in criminal activities and the long-term impact of such exploitation within families.