How thieves used Google Maps to target homes across three states

(Representative image)

The police arrested a gang of thieves on Saturday who used Google Maps to select houses in the Steel City for breaking in, reported the Times of India.

East Singhbhum SSP Piyush Pandey stated that the gang utilised Google Maps to select its targets and employed this technique to break into six homes across various cities in Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Bihar in recent months.

“They keep moving from one city to another in the three adjoining states and select their targets randomly using Google Maps. After committing the crime, the operatives used to flee the town immediately,” the SSP said.

However, the luck of the gang members ran out when they landed in the police net for allegedly breaking into a house in Golmuri in the city on September 19 this year. After Rishabh Kumar, the owner, lodged a complaint with the Golmuri police station, an investigation team was constituted to nab the thieves.

“The investigation team, with the help of CCTV footage, technical support, and intelligence inputs, apprehended the thieves, who are residents of Patna, Bihar,” Pandey said.

The accused were identified as Vikas Kumar (27), Raju Kumar (49) and Mohammad Irfan (26). All three are residents of various police station limits in Bihar. “Further investigation will reveal their Jamshedpur accomplices, if any,” SSP said.

The police have recovered a firearm, two 8 mm live cartridges, and stolen gold ornaments, besides the instruments used in the break-ins. The accused were placed in judicial custody on Saturday.