April 7, 2021 — Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
A routine phone-snatching turned into an internet sensation after a thief reportedly returned the stolen device moments later when he realized it wasn’t the smartphone model he expected.
Legal journalist Debayan Roy was walking near the Botanical Garden Metro Station in Noida when a man suddenly snatched his phone and ran away. Like most victims, Roy immediately chased after the thief, hoping to recover his device.
What happened next surprised everyone.
After taking a quick look at the phone, the thief abruptly turned around, ran back toward Roy, dropped the device on the ground, and fled the scene.
Before disappearing, the thief reportedly explained his unusual decision with a single sentence.
“Brother, I thought it was a OnePlus 9 Pro.”
Roy later shared the bizarre encounter on social media, where thousands of users reacted with laughter. Many joked that even phone thieves had become “tech critics,” refusing to steal devices that weren’t their preferred models.
Although the incident ended without Roy losing his phone, it also highlighted the ongoing problem of phone snatching in busy public areas. Fortunately, this case had a much lighter ending than most thefts.
The story quickly spread across Indian news outlets and technology websites, becoming one of the year’s most unusual crime stories.
