Thief steals phone, uploads selfies to owner’s Google Drive in Noida
Owner says cops haven’t initiated a hunt even after he tracked phone’s location to Gzb
I have synchronised my phone’s photo gallery with Google Drive, photographs – including selfies – clicked by the thief get uploaded to my account. MANOJ SHARMA, victim
Manoj Sharma received the shock of his life when three motorcycle-borne people allegedly snatched his smartphone from Noida-Sector 10 on June 12.
His nightmare, however, had just begun.
Sharma said photographs being clicked by one of the thieves are now being uploaded to his Google Drive account, adding to his desperation each passing day.
Though he has been able to pinpoint the man’s general location through the phone’s global positioning system, the culprit continues to be at large.
The smartphone, an Oppo F3 Selfie Expert, costs around ₹20,000.
“As I have synchronised my phone’s photo gallery with Google Drive, photographs – including selfies – clicked by the thief get uploaded to my account. I was even able to track the phone’s last location to Khoda in Ghaziabad, but Noida police haven’t initiated any action until now,” Sharma said.
The 32-year-old automobile company employee said he was talking to somebody over the phone when three miscreants snatched it from his hand.
He gave chase and managed to catch up with them at a traffic signal in Sector 12, but the culprits wouldn’t give in without a fight.
“They began beating me up. I somehow held on to two of them, but the third one sped away with my mobile phone,” he said. “There were many people at the traffic signal, but nobody came forward to help me. They simply stood and watched.”
Sharma handed the two accused – identified as Lucky Singh and Sachin Singh – over to the Sector 20 police, who registered a case and arrested them. “But they did not bother to catch the one who got away,” he said. The identity of the third accused is yet to be disclosed.
Noida superintendent of police (SP)Arun Kumar Singh said the phone would be placed under surveillance and recovered at the earliest.
The absconder will also be arrested, he assured.
Meanwhile, Manoj Sharma has posted several appeals on the social media and contacted his acquaintances in Khoda area in a bid to locate the phone thief.