TikTok videos of 'Tech-savvy' thief helped Madhya Pradesh police to track him down from Gaziabad

TikTok is back in the news and this time for the reason its makers in China and users in India would feel proud of. ByteDance's popular video app helped Madhya Pradesh police in arresting a habitual thief from Gaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. Here's how it happened: The accused Mukesh Safi - a native of Bihar - along with his associates was engaged in multiple incidents of theft in running trains in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam and Ujjain rail divisions throughout February and March this year.

Safi used more than three dozen phones with his SIM card to hide his location. But one thing Safi could not control was his craze for TikTok videos, which essentially led to his arrest Safi was very active on Facebook and he regularly used to upload his TikTok videos on Facebook. When the police learnt that he used stolen cell phones to record and upload his TikTok videos on Facebook, the police identified him through his online videos.

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The Government Railway Police (GRP) sought help from the cyber cell, which provided CCTV camera footage as well as mobile surveillance to capture Safi. He was also accused of stealing cash and valuables worth Rs 2.25 lakh in different cases registered against him. Safi - a 'Tech-savvy' thief was active primarily on Mumbai-Delhi route. He used to have his SIM installed in around three dozen handsets so that he could avoid his location from getting traced by Police.

However, one of his gang members Qayyum who was previously arrested had tipped off the Police about Safi's craze for TikTok videos. Police then considered tracking Safi's social media activities to track him down.

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Meanwhile, TikTok has collaborated with independent youth volunteer non-profit organisation Bhumi to launch the #CleanIndia Campaign. It aims to push TikTok's community to contribute to Swachh Bharat Mission "to achieve universal sanitation coverage and draw focus on it in the country."

“TikTok is committed to fostering constructive change in India through its platform and we are delighted to collaborate with Bhumi for this significant campaign," TikTok India said.