Sambhajinagar police trace 267 lost mobile phones across eight states, return them before Diwali

Just before Diwali, the festival turned happier for many residents of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar as lost mobile phones and gold jewellery were returned to them. Those who had given up hope of getting their belongings back looked relieved the moment they held them.

Police of Zone-2 traced 267 mobile phones with the help of the CEIR portal. Gold jewellery worth lakhs of rupees was also recovered. The items were handed over to their rightful owners at a programme held at the Tridevta Mandir hall in CIDCO.

The drive was conceived by Police Commissioner Pravin Pawar and run under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police Ratnakar Navle. In search of the phones, police had to reach eight states: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The phones were recovered in coordination with local police there.

When a complaint of a lost or stolen phone is received, the team at the police station concerned enters the phone's 15-digit IMEI number on the CEIR portal. The phone is then blocked. If someone tries to use it by inserting another SIM card, the new number and technical details become available on the portal. Police use this information to trace those using the phone. Phones were recovered from eight states through this technical system.

Besides phones, the drive recovered gold mangalsutras, "mani" mangalsutras, necklaces and bangles. Elderly people, homemakers, labourers and students said they were satisfied to get back these items, bought with hard-earned money.