A Kerala man used Google Maps and AI to repay a 31-year-old debt

Mohammed Ismail travelled over 1,200 km from Palakkad, Kerala, to Jagtial district in Telangana to repay a 31-year-old debt to his former colleague, using Google Maps and Google Gemini AI to trace him, according to a report by New Indian Express.

In the early 1990s, Ismail and Edla Lachanna worked together at a construction company in Saudi Arabia. Facing financial hardship, Ismail had borrowed 3,000 Saudi Riyals from Lachanna. Soon after, both men returned to their hometowns and lost contact, and the unpaid debt weighed on Ismail’s conscience for years, even though Lachanna had long forgotten about it.

Remembering only that his former colleague hailed from Dharmapuri in Jagtial district, Ismail used Google Maps and Google Gemini AI to search for him, eventually locating Lachanna’s house after travelling via Hyderabad. On arrival, he discovered Lachanna was still working in Saudi Arabia, and Lachanna’s family connected the two men over a WhatsApp video call, where Lachanna instantly recognised his old colleague.

Ismail reminded Lachanna of the loan and transferred Rs 25,000 — an amount he considered equivalent to the borrowed sum — to Lachanna’s family via PhonePe.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/by Santeri Viinamaki