Police handover 71 lost mobile phones back to owners

Berhampur: Berhampur police recovered 71 lost or missing mobile phones worth over Rs 25 lakh and handed over these to their rightful owners on Tuesday. A mobile phone mela, a formal handing over ceremony, was organised at the cyber crime and economic office police station here.

Additional superintendent of police (Berhampur) Alok Kumar Jena and DSP A K Panda handed over the recovered cellphone to their owners. “The lost mobile phones have been recovered during a special drive conducted by the cyber police station,” said Shankar Panda, IIC, cyber police station. He said police received 1,281 complaints of lost or missing mobile phones in the last year. In a special drive from Jun to Dec last year, they recovered 307 devices.


He said a dedicated and specialised team under the supervision of SP (Berhampur) Saravana Vivek M, worked in coordination with mobile service providers and other agencies to trace the devices.

On Saturday, Bhanajangar police in Ganjam district also conducted a mobile phone mela at Bhanjanagar and handed over 33 recovered devices to the rightful owners.

These mobile phones have been recovered following the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal-a govt backed platform designed to trace stolen or lost mobile phones, said police. The CEIR portal allows users to instantly block a lost device using its IMEI number and safeguard the sensitive data and prevent unauthorized use. Once blocked, the phone becomes unusable in mobile networks, making it easy to trace, said police.

To ensure safety and security of citizens’ mobile devices, the cyber police station, Berhampur, provides a dedicated service for reporting missing and lost mobile phones. To lodge complaint Whatsapp No.8895083873 and e-mail: missingmobile.cyber@odishapolice.gov.in. People are advised to upload their documents in the whatsapp or e-mail while lodging complaints, said police.