Google Maps team goes to survey UP village, gets thrashed over theft suspicion

Mangalore Today News Network

Uttar Pradesh, Aug 29, 2025: A Google Maps team, which went to survey a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur on Thursday night, was thrashed by the locals after being mistaken for thieves.

The incident took place when the Google Maps team, outsourced from Tech Mahindra, was mapping the streets of the Birhar village using their cameras and a machine-mounted vehicle. They were taking photos of the roads to ensure a correct map on Google Maps. During this time, the villagers became suspicious of their camera-fitted vehicle and suspected that they were collecting information for theft by installing cameras.

Minutes later, a group of villagers surrounded the Google Maps team, blocked their vehicle, and questioned them. However, the situation escalated into a fight, and the villagers began thrashing the team members before the police intervened.

The cops took both the villagers and the survey team to the local police station for questioning when the Google Maps team explained to the locals that they were not thieves and were mapping the village. Following this, the villagers calmed down.

"My team and I had visited the village for mapping when the locals beat us up over a misunderstanding. We had taken permission from the DGP for the survey," said one of the Google Maps employees.

According to the locals, the area had been witnessing multiple thefts recently, which had increased vigilance among them.

The Google Maps team did not file any case against the villagers.

"The local police went to the spot and enquired and found that the team doing Google mapping is present. At present, the police force is deployed on the spot, and the local citizens have been pacified and sent away peacefully. There is no law and order problem on the spot," the Kanpur police said.