Ongole (Andhra Pradesh), Oct 26 (IANS): Demonstrating the importance of deploying technology in cracking crime, Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam district police have nabbed a runaway juvenile truck thief within 24 hours.

On the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, Dornala police station officials received a complaint that a truck worth Rs 12 lakh, was driven away by some unknown criminals.

"On knowing the issue, Superintendent of Police (SP) Siddharth Kaushal took up the lorry theft case as a challenge and formed two special teams to identify the lorry," a police official told IANS.

In synchronized coordination, the district's integrated police control room alerted eight police stations, Yarragondapalem, Tripuranthakam, Dornala, Markapuram, Vinukonda, Donakonda, Darshi and Kurichedu, immediately to go after the runaway truck thief using VHF communication technology.

Officials in these eight police stations were directed to conduct intense vehicle search, even as the police control room in-charge started tracing the heavy vehicle's path through cctv cameras.

Meanwhile, to make things easier for police, Kaushal realised that the stolen truck was fitted with a GPS tracker, enabling the police to add another layer of digital tracking.

Following a multi-pronged search effort, marrying old world policing techniques and modern digital methods, police alerted Yarragondapalem inspector and his subordinates to trace the route taken by the stolen truck to finally arrest a juvenile vehicle thief.

Police arrested the juvenile and seized the truck at Vellatur village in Vinukonda mandal of neighbouring Guntur district.

On successfully cracking the case within 24 hours, Kaushal warned that the movements of old criminals are being closely monitored.

He reminded that the truck thief was caught by CCTV cameras and the use of technology, warning criminals of action.