Government Railway Police recovers over 1,600 stolen phones worth Rs 2.16 crore

The Government Railway Police has recovered 1,620 stolen and lost mobile phones worth Rs 2.16 crore using the CEIR portal. Officials handed over 120 phones to owners and urged railway passengers to report losses promptly and block devices using their IMEI numbers.

Hyderabad: The Government Railway Police (GRP) has recovered as many as 1,620 stolen and lost mobile phones worth approximately Rs 2.16 crore with the help of the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

As part of the latest recovery drive, Railway Police officials on Wednesday handed over around 120 mobile phones worth Rs 16 lakh to their owners, most of them railway passengers who had reported their phones missing or stolen.

---

According to the Railway Police, the recovered 1,620 mobile phones include devices linked to reported cases as well as complaints submitted through Mee-Seva applications. The special teams also traced and recovered phones from several other states, including Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Police said several of the phones had been stolen during train journeys, while some passengers lost their devices while travelling near the footboard or windows. In other cases, unidentified offenders allegedly snatched or stole the phones from passengers.

Railway Police urged passengers to remain vigilant about their belongings while travelling and take extra care when using mobile phones near train doors and windows.

Officials advised anyone who loses a mobile phone to immediately approach the nearest police station and block the device using its IMEI number through the CEIR portal. Passengers can access the portal at www.ceir.gov.in.

Once a phone is blocked and a complaint is registered, police teams can use the CEIR system to track the device when it becomes active on a network. After verification, the phone can be unblocked and handed back to its rightful owner.

Railway Police appealed to passengers to promptly report mobile phone thefts or losses instead of delaying the complaint, as early blocking of the IMEI number can assist in tracing and recovering the device.