Nagpur: The Kalamna Police overcame a major language barrier to crack two theft cases involving electronic gadgets, after apprehending a notorious thief hailing from Tamil Nadu.While a tip-off led cops to the thief, identified as Dilipbabu Rangan (27), their real test began during the interrogation. Rangan spoke only Tamil and refused to communicate in Hindi or English, stonewalling investigators’ questions. Some quick and out of box thinking saw cops come up with a ‘jugaad’ to solve the language problem. Police personnel were dispatched to nearby Kalamna Market, where truck drivers from southern states come to deliver different goods, in search of a Tamil-speaking translator. Senior inspector Pravin Kale scoured the bustling Kalamna market to find a ‘translator’. Soon, a couple of drivers, fluent in Tamil, stepped in as volunteer translators, enabling effective questioning, leading to swift confessions from Rangan.Earlier, Rangan was arrested near a country liquor den in Vijay Nagar. Cops on patrol spotted him carrying a black bag and trying to sell stolen mobile phones and laptops. Upon detention and search, police recovered three laptops and six mobile phones from his possession.During interrogation, with assistance of the Tamil-speaking drivers, Rangan confessed to the theft of a mobile phone worth ₹20,000 from an electric Ola two-wheeler parked at Kalamna Market’s Sabzi Mandi on March 11. Rangan’s accomplice is on the run, police officers said.The complainant, Sameer Sheikh Amin Qureshi, 24, of Teka, left the phone in the vehicle’s trunk while fetching vegetables, only to find it missing upon return. A case was registered under Section 303(2) IPC at Kalamna Police Station.Rangan further revealed his involvement in another theft under Rana Pratap Nagar Police Station limits. He confessed to committing these crimes alongside an accomplice, Balaji Govidappa from Kolar, Karnataka.Laptops and mobile phones worth approximately ₹2.10 lakh were seized from the accused. Cops are using technical analysis to trace the owners of mobile phones and one laptop.
