A Spanish man stuck in a burglary situation inside his home in Bengaluru became a victim of linguistic chauvinism when his SOS call was disconnected by the helpline operator who asked him to speak in Kannada. According to a report in the Times of India, a Spanish man named Jesus Abrielle dialled emergency number 112 when he heard two people break into his house in the night around 2 am on Wednesday. He tried to explain his situation to the helpline operator in a mix of English and Spanish. However, the helpline operator asked him to speak in Kannada and disconnected his call.
The burglars took away valuables worth Rs 82,000 from Abrielle’s house including his laptop, a platinum ring, headphones, a wallet containing Rs 10,000, his Spanish ID card, a driver’s license, and his debit cards from India and his native country. In shock of the incident, Abrielle remained stuck in his room for around 6 hours. He did not call anyone until 8:30 am when he finally called his landlord Sudeep and narrated his ordeal.
Burglars snuck in through the bathroom window
Abrielle lives in the ground floor flat of the Nydus apartment complex on Langford Road in Richmond Town in Bengaluru. The burglars reportedly snuck into the house by removing the louvre window glasses of the bathroom attached to one of the bedrooms. Abrielle was in another bedroom at the time. He heard the noise of someone entering the house and immediately made the SOS. On failing to get any help from the emergency number, he decided to remain inside his bedroom. The burglars remained in the house for 30 minutes and then left from a different window of the bedroom.
According to the police, the apartment complex did not have any CCTV cameras. The guard at the entrance of the apartment complex was awake at the time of the burglary and was talking to the guard of the adjacent building. However, he did not hear any noise as Abrielle’s apartment is located at the far end of the complex. The police suspect that the burglars might be labourers as some construction work is going on in a nearby building. A case has been filed by the police under sections 305 (theft in a dwelling house) and 331 (punishment for house-trespass or house-breaking) of the BNS.
A helpline operator is obligated to call back
Explaining the mishap on the emergency call, a senior police officer reportedly explained that emergency numbers frequently receive frivolous and prank calls. Therefore, the helping operator might have mistaken Abrielle’s call for a prank call. However, in such situations, the operator must call back and examine the entire situation.
Editor’s note: Karnataka Police has issued a statement since this news went viral in Indian media.

In their statement, the Karnataka Police said that the alleged victim made no call to the helpline at the time of the incident. However, the police later responded promptly after the incident was reported to them.