BENGALURU: Faced with a frightening situation of two intruders entering his central Bengaluru flat, a Spaniard dialled the emergency number 112 and tried to explain his problem in a mix of broken English and Spanish. The helpline operator, however, asked him to speak in Kannada before ending the call.
Jesus Abrielle, in his mid-30s, remained confined to the bedroom of his ground-floor flat in the Nydus apartment complex on Langford Road in Richmond Town for nearly six hours early Wednesday morning.
The consultant for a private firm called his landlord Sudeep S around 8:30am and told him about the burglary.
As Sudeep rushed to the spot, Abrielle told him that around 2am, two burglars gained entry into the house and made away with his laptop, a platinum ring, headphones, a wallet containing Rs 10,000, his Spanish ID card and driving licence as well as debit cards of both India and his native country.
The burglars entered the flat by removing the louver window glasses of the bathroom attached to one of the bedrooms. But Abrielle was in another bedroom. “He heard the noise and immediately dialled helpline 112. But he didn’t get assistance due to the communication problem. The call attendant asked him to speak in Kannada and later disconnected the line,” Sudeep told TOI.
According to Abrielle, he did not come out of the bedroom as he feared the burglars might attack him. The intruders spent almost 30 minutes in the hall and left the flat through the same bedroom but from a sliding window.
While the burglars took away valuables worth Rs 82,000 on the table, they apparently did not notice some more cash, a costly jacket and a suit in the hall, a police officer said.
“Abrielle was traumatised after the incident; he didn’t call anyone till 8:30am,” Sudeep said.
Guard couldn’t hear noise
According to police, the apartment complex has no CCTV cameras. A security guard at the entrance was awake and was speaking to the watchman of the adjacent building during the burglary. He couldn’t hear any noise as the flat is at the dead end of the complex.
As construction work is ongoing in Gabrielle’s apartment complex and an adjacent building, police suspect the burglars may be labourers. “We are examining CCTV footage from the adjacent building and roads to find clues,” a senior officer said.
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 305 (theft in a dwelling house or means of transportation or place of worship) and 331 (punishment for house trespass or housebreaking).
SOS mistaken for mischief
A senior police officer sought to explain away the incident, saying the emergency helpline frequently receives prank and frivolous calls and inappropriate remarks from intoxicated individuals and the operator might have mistaken the Spanish-English communication for an inebriated caller’s mischief. However, the operator is obligated to call back the number of the caller, if it is available and thoroughly examine and understand the complete situation.
The emergency helpline in the city gets 15,000-20,000 calls in a day and only about 1,500 of them are genuine. The helpline also receives calls from people saying someone is staring at them in a bar, the officer added.
Genuine calls will be directed to the nearest Hoysala team, based on the location of the caller. They will not close the case until they verify the situation by visiting the spot, the officer added.
Jesus Abrielle, in his mid-30s, remained confined to the bedroom of his ground-floor flat in the Nydus apartment complex on Langford Road in Richmond Town for nearly six hours early Wednesday morning.
The consultant for a private firm called his landlord Sudeep S around 8:30am and told him about the burglary.
As Sudeep rushed to the spot, Abrielle told him that around 2am, two burglars gained entry into the house and made away with his laptop, a platinum ring, headphones, a wallet containing Rs 10,000, his Spanish ID card and driving licence as well as debit cards of both India and his native country.
The burglars entered the flat by removing the louver window glasses of the bathroom attached to one of the bedrooms. But Abrielle was in another bedroom. “He heard the noise and immediately dialled helpline 112. But he didn’t get assistance due to the communication problem. The call attendant asked him to speak in Kannada and later disconnected the line,” Sudeep told TOI.
According to Abrielle, he did not come out of the bedroom as he feared the burglars might attack him. The intruders spent almost 30 minutes in the hall and left the flat through the same bedroom but from a sliding window.
While the burglars took away valuables worth Rs 82,000 on the table, they apparently did not notice some more cash, a costly jacket and a suit in the hall, a police officer said.
“Abrielle was traumatised after the incident; he didn’t call anyone till 8:30am,” Sudeep said.
Guard couldn’t hear noise
According to police, the apartment complex has no CCTV cameras. A security guard at the entrance was awake and was speaking to the watchman of the adjacent building during the burglary. He couldn’t hear any noise as the flat is at the dead end of the complex.
As construction work is ongoing in Gabrielle’s apartment complex and an adjacent building, police suspect the burglars may be labourers. “We are examining CCTV footage from the adjacent building and roads to find clues,” a senior officer said.
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 305 (theft in a dwelling house or means of transportation or place of worship) and 331 (punishment for house trespass or housebreaking).
SOS mistaken for mischief
A senior police officer sought to explain away the incident, saying the emergency helpline frequently receives prank and frivolous calls and inappropriate remarks from intoxicated individuals and the operator might have mistaken the Spanish-English communication for an inebriated caller’s mischief. However, the operator is obligated to call back the number of the caller, if it is available and thoroughly examine and understand the complete situation.
The emergency helpline in the city gets 15,000-20,000 calls in a day and only about 1,500 of them are genuine. The helpline also receives calls from people saying someone is staring at them in a bar, the officer added.
Genuine calls will be directed to the nearest Hoysala team, based on the location of the caller. They will not close the case until they verify the situation by visiting the spot, the officer added.
