Mangaluru Police hand over 93 stolen or lost mobile phones to owners

Mangaluru:  Mangaluru city police, led by Police Commissioner Kuldeep Kumar Jain, successfully returned a total of 93 stolen or lost mobile phones to their rightful owners. The phones were handed over at the police commissioner’s office on Saturday.

Highlighting the efforts made by the police department, Commissioner Jain stated that they had received a staggering 2,133 complaints within the police commissionerate regarding lost or stolen mobile phones. Acting on the requests of the owners, the police had blocked 2,391 International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers through the CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register) portal.

Out of the blocked IMEI numbers, information about 524 mobile phones was received by the police, leading to the successful tracing of 240 devices. Additionally, 147 mobile phones were already handed over to their rightful owners at various police stations across the city, he said.

Commissioner Jain further disclosed that the police department had also received approximately 3,000 applications requesting the blocking of phone numbers used for cybercrime offenses. Consequently, a total of 5,892 IMEI numbers were blocked, aiming to curb illegal activities in the region.

The Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal, ceir.gov.in, operated by the Union Department of Telecommunications (DOT), played a pivotal role in facilitating the recovery of lost or stolen mobile phones. Owners were able to file requests to block IMEI numbers through the CEIR portal after registering a complaint with the local police station or utilizing the KSP application.

As part of their ongoing efforts, the Mangaluru city police introduced a  ‘chatbot service’. Individuals who lost their mobile phones were encouraged to send a message containing ‘Hi’ to the WhatsApp number 8277949183. Upon sending the message, a Google form link would be provided, enabling users to register a complaint and request assistance in tracing their lost devices.