In a strategic effort to combat crime using cyber technology, Gandhinagar police have recovered 230 stolen mobile phones in one month through the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), District police superintendent Vasamsetty Ravi Teja told the press on Apr 25. 

He explained that specially trained teams from the Gandhinagar district police recovered the devices based on complaints of mobile theft registered in Gandhinagar district and city. The teams travelled to various locations in Gujarat, as well as from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for this recovery process. 

“We have sent the recovered phones, cumulatively worth about ₹30 lakh, to local police stations, from where they will be returned to their owners,” a senior official of the Gandhinagar local crime branch said. The cases are still under investigation since, in most cases, the devices recovered from innocent people who bought them second-hand are not involved in the thefts. 

A joint initiative between the police and the Department of Telecom, CEIR allows users and the police to input a stolen or lost phone’s IMEI number and request that it be blocked to prevent the device from being used for illegal activities.

When you block a smartphone on CEIR's website, it will be blocked on the central database and cannot be used and an alternate number has been given for the phone. Given its nationwide presence, CEIR can track if and when any unauthorised person attempts to activate the blocked phone anywhere in the country. If such an attempt is detected, the phone will send a SMS to a given alternate number, allowing the phone to be traced and recovered by the police,” the crime branch official added. 

In order to request that a stolen/lost phone be blocked, users need to upload a digital copy of the complaint filed with the local police, as well as the number of the SIM card, the phone’s IMEI number and a copy of the mobile purchase invoice.