Updated January 6th 2026, 17:48 IST

Kota: In a bizarre turn of events that shifted from a serious crime to an unintentional comedy, a burglary attempt in Kota’s Pratap Nagar ended in an embarrassing rescue after a thief got stuck inside a kitchen exhaust fan shaft, which was going out of the house after his robbery operation.
The video of the incident, showing the man dangling helplessly from the wall, has gone viral, gathering thousands of views and sparking a wave of "instant karma" memes online.
The incident occurred late Saturday night at the residence of Subhash Kumar Rawat. The Rawat family had been away on a religious pilgrimage to the Khatu Shyam Temple, leaving their home locked and unattended. Taking the opportunity, two men arrived at the scene in a white car, sticking a "Police" sticker on the windshield to avoid suspicion from night patrols.
Bypassing the main gates, one of the suspects, identified as 25-year-old Pawan Vaishnav, decided that the circular opening for the kitchen’s exhaust fan was his best point of entry.
As he attempted to wiggle through the narrow concrete shaft, he became stuck halfway, with his upper body stuck in the kitchen and his legs kicking on the outside.
This took a cinematic turn around 1:00 AM when the Rawat family returned home. As they pulled up to their gate, the headlights of their scooter illuminated the kitchen wall, revealing a pair of legs dangling from the exhaust vent.
"We were shocked to see someone hanging there," Rawat told local media.
"When we started shouting for help, another man who was standing guard near the car immediately fled the scene, leaving his partner behind."
The video quickly went viral, leaving viewers amused. Ever since the video went viral on social media, the video gathered massive attention online.
Social media users flooded the comments section with laughing emojis and sarcastic remarks.
A user commented," Let him go, guys. Maybe it's his first time."
Another said, “ I'm exhausted just by seeing this!”
A third user stated, "Imagine being beaten after getting rescued, that too in cold weather."
“ Should have left him stuck for 1-2 days,” a fourth user said.
A fifth user said," Karma got quick."
Published January 6th 2026, 14:02 IST