The robbery that took place in Dahod district’s Zalod taluka seems to have been taken directly from the Gujarati film Hun Iqbal, which follows the daring pursuits of a flamboyant thief who persistently evades the police.
This true story incident is a startling parallel to the plot of the movie, as the thief broke into a car dealership right next to the Zalod police station and left a note challenging the police to catch him. The note read, “Hun chor Nathubhai Ninama, mane pakdi ne batao (I am thief Nathubhai Ninama. Catch me if you can).”
The Dahod police had no choice but to accept the thief’s challenge due to its audacity. The police quickly formed teams as word of the incident spread, prepared to solve the mystery and apprehend the thief. Balram Meena, the SP for Dahod, reaffirmed his commitment to bringing the thief to justice and reassured the public that they would soon apprehend the offender and reveal his true motivations for leaving the note.
According to the complaint lodged by Imran Gudala, the owner of the vehicle showroom on the Banswara Road, the discovery of a broken lock on the office door greeted his staff on the morning of May 19. The office itself appeared ransacked, providing a testament to the thief’s intrusion. Upon further inspection, it became evident that Rs 60,000 in cash was missing, along with the Digital Video Recorder containing crucial surveillance footage from the showroom’s CCTV cameras. Additional stolen items included the internet modem and miscellaneous items.
A senior police official said, “The note left behind by the thief said, ‘I am the thief, Nathubhai Ninama.’ He also left behind a mobile number and used some offensive language, further challenging the police to catch hold of him.”
The possibility that the thief may have written a false mobile number on the note was acknowledged by PSI G.B. Rathwa of the Zalod Police Station. The note itself, however, is an important piece of proof and has a lot of significance. When the thief is apprehended, a comparison to his handwriting will give police solid proof that he should be imprisoned.