Bhopal Cyber Help Desks Recover 163 Mobile Phones, Thieves At Large

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Though the police returned a number of lost and stolen mobile phones to their rightful owners through cyber help desks set up in each police station, the culprits behind these thefts remain untraced.

It is worth mentioning that the recovery of mobile phones is being done through Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal, which helps track devices using their IMEI numbers. The recoveries are taking place but the ratio of traced phones remains very low compared to the large number of theft and loss complaints filed.

From July 20 and August 26, cyber help desks at Kamla Nagar, MP Nagar, Habibganj, Aishbagh, Bag Sewania, and Shahjehanabad police stations recovered 163 mobile phones worth nearly Rs 30 lakh. These were handed back to their owners who appreciated the efforts of the cops.

However, in none of these cases was the actual thief identified. Police officials admitted that while the devices were traced no clear information surfaced about who stole the phones and how they landed in the hands of the buyers who were presently using them.

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Most individuals found in possession of these devices claimed to have purchased them second-hand from some or the other individual. Cybercrime investigators revealed that many stolen devices are dismantled with their parts sold separately in Bhopal and even outside making recovery impossible in such cases.

Additional DCP Shailendra Singh Chauhan said that police station-level cyber desks were equipped with trained personnel to track phones directly via CEIR.

“Through IMEI numbers, new SIM cards inserted in lost or stolen mobiles are traced. We then contact the users and recover the devices,” he informed.