How Google Maps Live Location Sharing Helps Recover Stolen Items in Dramatic Train Chase in Tamil Nadu

Rarely do stolen items get recovered from a moving train on the same day. However, with the help of technology like Google Maps, there are ways to increase the chances of recovery. If you share your live location through WhatsApp with someone you trust, they can track your whereabouts. Similarly, Apple's iPhone offers a unique feature through Find My App, which allows users to track their lost phones and the live locations of family and friends if shared beforehand.

In a remarkable incident from Tamil Nadu, a tech-savvy individual managed to recover his father's stolen mobile phone and bag with the assistance of Google Maps' live location-sharing feature. Raj Bhagatt, known as @user on x, formerly Twitter, recounted his dramatic chase that unfolded aboard a train.

Bhagatt's father was travelling from Nagercoil to Trichy on the Nagercoil-Kacheguda Express when another passenger stole his bag and mobile phone. Realizing the theft, Bhagatt's father contacted him from a friend's phone at 3:51 AM to report the incident. Fortunately, Bhagatt's family members had enabled location sharing, allowing him to track the stolen phone's movement.

Raj Bhagatt Shared on X

Here is the story of how @googlemaps helped me recover items stolen in a moving train from my father.

My father was travelling from Nagercoil to Trichy in sleper class in Nagercoil - Kacheguda express. He had boarded at 1:43 AM from NCJ. The train was relatively empty & another… pic.twitter.com/j2RLo8Xb4z

— Raj Bhagat P #Mapper4Life (@rajbhagatt) February 4, 2024

Upon tracking the mobile's location near Melapalayam in Tirunelveli, Bhagatt noticed that the thief was heading back to Nagercoil. He immediately contacted his friend Babin, a local DMK functionary, and together, they rushed to Nagercoil station to apprehend the thief.

The railway police joined their effort, and using Google Maps, Bhagatt meticulously tracked the thief's movements as he navigated through the crowded train station and eventually boarded a local bus. Despite losing sight of the thief briefly, Bhagatt and his friend persisted, eventually intercepting the thief at Anna bus stand.

With the help of other passengers at the bus stop, Bhagatt confronted the thief, identified by a bag marked with the CITU logo, indicating his father's union activism, they catch the thief and recovered his father's mobile phone and a bag. Although they initially believed they had recovered all stolen items, further interrogation by local police revealed additional stolen belongings.

Reflecting on the experience, Bhagatt expressed gratitude for the accessibility of live location sharing and credited his quick thinking and familiarity with maps for the successful recovery. The thief, identified as a repeat offender, was handed over to the local authorities, marking a dramatic conclusion to the chase.