New Delhi, May 17 (PTI) Delhi Police has recovered 76 lost mobile phones in a month-long drive using the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal, which helps trace and block lost or stolen devices, officials said on Saturday.
The phones, either reported lost or mentioned in theft-related e-FIRs, were recovered through cyber surveillance and International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)-based tracking, a police officer said.
“We traced 76 mobile phones in the last one month and handed them over to their rightful owners. The operation was made possible through a combination of cyber-space surveillance and IMEI tracking,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Devesh Kumar Mahla said.
The recoveries were made by various police stations across the New Delhi district. The maximum number — 38 — were recovered by Kartavya Path police station, followed by 10 recoveries by Tughlak Road, seven by Tilak Marg , four each by Chanakyapuri and South Avenue.
He said three each were recovered by Barakhamba Road, North Avenue, and Connaught Place, two by Mandir Marg, one each by Parliament Street, and the Cyber police station.
Some of the recovered phones had been reported missing as far back as three years ago, while others were lost only a week before being traced, the officer added.
The police are currently working on tracking around 300 more mobile phones and expect to return them to their owners over the next month, he said.
“We have used non-traditional methods to achieve this result. All the individuals who received their phones back had simply lodged a lost report and trusted the police to act,” Mahla said.
The success of the recovery operation has encouraged police to increase the use of the CEIR portal and boost public awareness about digital complaint mechanisms, he said.
Developed by the Department of Telecommunications, the CEIR platform allows users to report lost or stolen mobile phones, which are then blocked to prevent misuse and tracked if connected to a network, he added. PTI SSJ OZ OZ
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