Google Maps ‘brings’ Assam Police to Nagaland; here’s what happened next

Google Maps misled the 16-person team Assam Police The report states that they were detained by Nagaland residents. According to news agency PTI, Assam Police said that during the raid, a team from Jorhat district followed directions from Google Maps to arrest the accused who had mistakenly crossed the border Mokokchung district in Nagaland.
The locals, believing that the officers were criminals, held them overnight. The Jorhat police contacted the authorities in Mokokchung, who then rescued the Assam police.

What Assam Police said about the incident

In a statement to PTI, a senior Assam Police official said: “It was the tea garden area that was shown in Assam on Google Maps. However, it was actually in Nagaland. The team went to Nagaland in pursuit of the criminal due to confusion and misleading GPS directions. Of the 16 workers, only three were in uniform and the rest were in civilian clothes. This also caused confusion among residents. They also attacked the team and one of our employees was injured. The locals then realized that it was a real squad of Assam Police and released five members, including the injured one. However, they held the remaining 11 people captive overnight. They were released in the morning and later reached Jorhat.”

Previous incidents involving Google Maps

Multiple incidents were reported last year, claiming that Google Maps led some users to accidents.
In December 2023, a family from Bihar traveling to Goa was reported to have ended up in a forest area in Khanapur Taluk in Karnataka’s Belagavi district after directions were provided on Google Maps.
In another incident that occurred in November 2023, three people lost their lives in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh after their car, allegedly misled by Google Maps, veered off a bridge under construction into the Ramganga River. The victims, unaware of the incomplete overpass in front of them, continued driving until their vehicle fell into the river.