A Google Maps crew rolled into Birhar village near Kanpur on Thursday night, planning to do a simple mapping job- taking pics of streets, rolling along with their camera-stacked vehicle.
Nothing shady except the locals weren’t buying it. With a string of thefts plaguing the area, people were already on edge. So, when they spotted an unfamiliar van bristling with cameras, suspicion flared up fast.
Did things stay calm? Not a chance. Within minutes, a crowd formed, blocking in the survey team and peppering them with questions.
Whatever explanations the team tried to give didn’t really land. Tension spiked, and before long, it turned ugly as some villagers started roughing up the team.
Cops finally showed up, dragged everyone to the station, and tried to clear up the mess. Turns out, the Google Maps folks actually had official permission for their work straight from the DGP, no less.
Once the misunderstanding got sorted, tempers cooled. Nobody pressed charges; the mapping team just wanted to move on.
Police stuck around to keep a lid on things. In the end, the scene settled down, and life in Birhar went back to its usual rhythm—just with a little more caution about strange cars with tech gear rolling into town.
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