A Delhi University professor successfully recovered her stolen laptop, containing years of PhD research, by using the 'find my app' and enlisting the help of local residents to locate the thieves.
Key Points
- Delhi University professor's laptop stolen from car on busy road near North Campus.
- Professor used 'find my app' to track the laptop's location after the theft.
- Local neighbours provided crucial information about the suspects and their criminal history.
- The professor and her husband located the stolen bag on a nearby terrace and recovered the laptop.
- Police detained the accused after the professor reported the location of the stolen items.
An assistant professor at Delhi University (DU) found her stolen laptop, which contained six years of PhD work, using 'find my app' after miscreants allegedly broke her parked car's window on a busy road near the North Campus and fled with the bag.
The professor posted a two-part video on her Instagram handle, Praso Literature.
In the first video posted two days ago, she said she had gone to the DU North campus with her husband for PhD-related work when the incident took place.
"After work, we decided to go to Kamala Nagar because the college fest was the next day, and I wanted to get some clothes altered. We parked our car on the Bungalow Road, which is a very busy one," she said, adding that after which they headed to a restaurant and later to a jewellery store on a rickshaw.
Recalling the series of events in the viral video, she said when they returned to their car, they saw that the driver's side window was smashed.
"The glass window was shattered," said the DU assistant professor. "We stood there, shocked and numb. Some people also came over to see what had happened, and they were shocked too."
She said the bag with her laptop was missing.
"My wallet was also stolen, along with an air purifier," she said, adding that they immediately called the police.
Tracking and Recovery
In the second part of the video, the professor explained how luck favoured them.
"Once we got out of the police station, we went to a petrol station to get fuel. When I checked my phone, I was able to track my laptop's location. It was at one place for the last half an hour," she said, while sharing a screenshot of her "find my app" showing the location of the laptop.
She said that despite knowing that it would be risky to visit the place on their own, they visited the area.
Community Assistance and Police Intervention
"First, we spoke to a neighbour who told us that some boys do live there. A second neighbour told us that the boys have a criminal record," she said.
"The neighbours asked us to go to the terrace as the boys lived on the first floor. When my husband went there, he saw that the boys were hiding the bag on someone else's terrace, and they moved after seeing my husband," she said.
The assistant professor said she was able to retrieve her bag containing her laptop. She said they found other stolen items also there and called the police, who, detained the accused.
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