Three thieves who stole four mobile phones from five engineering students were apprehended by the Bengaluru police thanks to the utilization of the ‘find my device’ function on the smartphones.
The “find my device” feature on smartphones helps users locate their lost or stolen devices by using GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular signals. It can be accessed through an app or online account and displays the device’s location on a map. Additional options like playing a sound, remotely locking the device, or erasing data for security purposes may also be available. Overall, this function is designed to assist users in recovering their smartphones and protecting their personal information.
Incident Details
According to police sources, the incident took place at 1 am on Saturday night while the five students, namely Dhriti, Ashwit, Riya, Joshua, and Manvit Rao, all 18 years old, were present in the Andhrahalli Main Road area of the city. The students had planned to embark on a nearby hill trek and intended to spend time there until sunrise. They had booked a cab for transportation, but the vehicle mistakenly dropped them off at Andhrahalli Main Road instead of the intended hill location.
Students Attempt to Arrange Another Cab
As the students attempted to arrange another cab, three individuals approached them and threatened them with matches. “We handed over four mobiles and Rs 3,500 in cash,” the youngsters informed the police. One of the students contacted the police to report the incident and discovered that two of the stolen phones had the ‘find my device’ feature. “Hoysala staffers, in collaboration with night patrolling police, promptly arrived at the scene.
The victims mentioned that two of the four stolen mobile phones possessed the ‘find my device’ feature. This technology assisted us in tracing the suspects to their residence in Tigalarapalya. With the students seated in the Hoysala vehicle, we conducted a raid on the room around 3 am. While two of the suspects managed to escape, we successfully apprehended three of them,” explained one of the police officials to The Times of India.
